


Third Gen Intro

by Gamewizard2008



Series: Kids Next Door Gameverse [55]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine, ChalkZone, Coco (2017), Codename: Kids Next Door, Diablo (Video Game), Mother 3, One Piece, Rocket Power (TV), Ronja Rövardotter | Ronia the Robber's Daughter - Astrid Lindgren
Genre: Children, Earthbending & Earthbenders, F/M, Family, Friendship, Future Fic, Giants, Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:27:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 25,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22313254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gamewizard2008/pseuds/Gamewizard2008
Summary: A collection of one-shots that introduce the Third Gen Kids Next Door.
Relationships: Jataro Kemuri/E. Carmine, Miguel Rivera/Aisa
Series: Kids Next Door Gameverse [55]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1046538
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. Third Gen Playground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when a bunch of little monsters grow up and have kids of their own? Why, you'd need a giant playground and then some.

**Time to introduce the Next Nextgen!**

****

**_

Third Gen Playground

_**

****

**Mushroom Kingdom; Kingdom Playground**

The Kingdom Playground was the largest playground in the universe, constructed by the finest Carpenter Fairies around. Children from all corners of the cosmos loved to come here, for this playground was specifically designed for all races to enjoy. Unfortunately, this playground had bullies. And in one corner of the playground, a young girl of five years was gazing in terror at a whole pile of beaten kids. Young Mali Anderson had black hair and beautiful brown eyes, along with a purple dress with pink clouds.

The bullies in question took their place atop the pile: compared to the fallen kids, the bullies were quite tiny. “HAH! Is that all you got?! You wimps didn’t even TRY to fight us!” declared Christina Uno, a red-eyed girl with blonde hair, a blue T-shirt, and black shorts. Her red bow made her look cute, but the girl viciously cracked her reddened knuckles.

“Hee hee hee!” Her accomplice, Jason Dimalanta, climbed up. He had tan skin, messy black hair, and blue eyes, along with black shorts and an open green vest. Of course, he was most defined by his raccoon ears and tail. “Oi, that was so ripper! Way to go, first mate!” His golden fist met with her iron fist.

“Eyaaaaahhhh!” Mali ran as fast as she could to get out of the playground. “Aunt Maddy, Aunt Maddy!” She ran up to a little woman with a strong and slender build and brown hair in a ponytail. If it wasn’t obvious by their size difference, Mali was a giant. “Christina and Jason are beating up all the giants! I-I think they’re gonna get me!”

“There there, Mali.” Maddy patted the girl’s leg. “I’ll straighten them out. CHRIS, GET OVER HERE.”

“Every time with this.” Her husband sighed, going to enter the playground with Maddy. “I told you teaching her Haki this early was a bad idea.”

“Christina and Jason?!” screamed a troll girl with whiskers and webbed hands and feet. She was Catsif Ampora. “CHRASON! My ship has set sail!!” She was drawing a picture of the two standing atop the giants.

“Oh, boy.” Cheren Uno sighed. “She’s making pairings with our kids.”

“Just like Nepeta did with all of us!” Panini giggled, arm rested on her shorter husband.

“Catsif, you know Jason and Christina are cousins, right?” Feferi asked.

“Oh… By how much?”

“Get ready to eat my dust, girls!” The adults looked over to see three kids racing around the playground. The boy who shouted was Karma Shiota, a magenta-haired boy who wore only a white skirt.

“Hey, if we went around naked like you did, we’d leave you in the dirt!” yelled Joto Hanakari, a snarky girl with red hair in pigtails, a white T-shirt, and blue shorts. “Hey Aria, you’re falling behind!”

Aria Conbolt had short purple hair and clothing that matched her father’s, save for her green undershirt. “I don’t think so! Rainbow DASH!” She threw her arms behind her and fired Blue Wind to dash faster, blowing past her rivals.

“GAAH! WAIT!” Joto halted in panic, as did Karma. “You’re about to hit-”

Silica York, a girl with black hair in two pigtails, a blue streak in the middle of it, and a black sweater was scowling intently at her Nintendo 4DS. The chubby-cheeked gamegirl was playing _Sandman: The Spiritverse_ , and had scored a 112 combo in a battle with countless thugs. “Silica, can’t you take your eyes off that for a second?” asked her mother, Carol, who wore a gorgeous green dress and a white sunhat on her curled blonde hair.

“Mom, I’m about to break the world record! Seriously, why’d you program a World Rankings if you didn’t want people to shoot for the top?”

“I hoped those people would do it at home and not at a playground where there’s sunlight and friends.”

“LOOK OOOOUT!” Aria didn’t slow down in time before bumping into Silica and making her drop her DS. Joto and Karma gazed with the utmost horror. Silica was completely traumatized. Sure, her DS was fine, but her score…

“Grrrrrrr. . . .” A black aura formed around her, and her brown eyes glowed white.

“She’s going into Fury Mode!” Karma screamed. “RUN, ARIA, RUN!”

“AAAAAAAHHHH!” Aria ran as fast as possible, but Silica’s Shadow Fury forced everyone’s shadows to pursue the Rainbow Sky Mage.

“STOP!” Dillon yelled, using his own bending to stop the shadows. “All shadows return to your masters! It’s sunny out, they’re burning up!” Indeed, without their shadows, everyone was alit with white flames. The shadows hastily returned to prevent their owners from vanishing.

“Karma and Joto or Karma and Aria?” Catsif drew pictures of both. “What do I choose??”

There was also a cave area of the playground, which was dark even during the brightest day. A 10-year-old boy with blushed cheeks and a doll-like face with puffy black-and-white hair was creating stars and making constellations on the dark ceiling. “GOTCHA!” He was jumped by a 12-year-old Black girl with a blue shirt and black skirt.

“Whoa! Mikaela, I’m trying to focus!” Gabriel Winkiebottom yelled.

“Gaby, it’s so dark in heeeere. Can’t we go make stars outside?” Mikaela Gilligan whined.

“No. I can see better in the dark.”

“You just don’t want everyone to call you a clown.”

“That is ridiculous! I do NOT look like a clown.”

“Nah, you look like a dolly!”

“I DO NOT!”

Mika snapped her fingers and tele-shrunk Gabriel into her hand. “You do, too!”

“Stop that!” Gabe warped himself to normal size.

“I’VE FOUND ANOTHER SHIP!” Catsif pounced in, forcing a scream out of the two. “Mika and Gabriel! Mikabriel!”

Robi McKenzie was climbing a rock wall that was 50 feet high. He was a Nimbi with round dark-green glasses, a green shirt, khaki brown shorts, and the classic frizzy red hair belonging to the Fulbright Family. “Hey, you’re falling behind, Big Brain!” He shouted down at Marty Gilligan, a yellow-skinned half-human alien with a mushroom-like antenna, purple shirt, and black shorts.

“Huff…huff… Why couldn’t I inherit more of my Glomourian roots?” Marty gasped. “Lily, can’t you tickle him and make him slip?”

“Why ever would I do that, Marty?” asked Lily, an inch-tall green-skinned Kateenian with flower petals around her antenna ball. “That would ruin Robi’s soft head of hair.” Indeed, she was snuggled comfily on Robi’s hair.

The three watched as a green-skinned girl with pink hair and two antennae softly danced up the rocks on the tips of her toes. Trella Dunfree was both blind and mute, but had no trouble sensing things with her antennae, and she was incredibly lightweight. “Oh, my! You’re amazing, Cousin Trella!” Lily called. Trella looked down at her with her closed eyes, smiled, and bowed.

“GET BACK HERE, CHRISTINA!” They were startled by an earsplitting screech. Christina Uno came rapidly climbing the wall as Maddy Uno chased her. “You’re apologizing to those giants whether you want to or not!!”

“I was toughening them up!” Robi held tight to his rocks as they sped past, and Trella nearly lost balance on hers. When they had gone by, they sighed in relief.

“ARIAAAAAA!” Aria Conbolt dashed up the wall with sonic speed while Silica Shadow Veiled after her, the wind from their speed causing the kids to fall. Thankfully, Robi flapped his wings and regained himself, keeping his little friend safe.

“Mewwwww! Robily are so kawaii!” cooed Catsif.

Jasmine and Frasmine Drilovsky were viewing Maddy chasing Christina and Silica chasing Aria via telescopes from a playground tower. Jasmine’s hair was orange and standing tall, wearing an orange bellybutton shirt and skirt, while Frasmine had similar blue hair with a blue shirt and black shorts. “Who would ever be so foolish-” began Jas.

“-as to piss off those two?” followed Fras.

Little did they know they were being watched from another tower. “Do they suspect anything?” Kodachi Ramsey asked. He wore his mother’s fireworks robe and had kabuki makeup under his eyes, with messy black hair to match.

“Nope, not a thing!” Ness Blakely gave thumbs-up. He had black hair, a red cap, a yellow- and blue-striped shirt, and blue shorts.

“Great!” Koda positioned the firework. “Aiming tower GOIN’ DOWN!” He ignited the fuse and sent it flying for the twins’ tower.

Jasmine heard the whistling sound and gasped. “Brother! Incoming!”

Frasmine spotted the firework and shot an ice beam to freeze it and make it fall. “Gulp! Uh-oh!” Ness gulped. “RETREAT!” He and Koda leapt off the tower as Fras chased on an ice path and Jas chased with Rocket Boost.

“Oh dear, there’s only one girl among those four.” Catsif said, peeping up from the twins’ tower. “That’s going to be awkward.”

“Nee hee hee hee!” Christina outran her mom with flaming feet. “You’ll never catch me, Mom! WAH!” She was stomped under a giant socked foot.

“No, but I will!” said Ichigo Diego, a half-Hispanic/Japanese giant with black hair, a red soccer jersey, and blue jeans.

“Grrrr! Get off me, you fat lug!” Christina struggled to push his foot off.

“Thanks, Ichigo.” Maddy grabbed her daughter’s arm in her Armament hand. “I’ll take it from here.”

“Oooo, Ichina is a good ship, too.” Catsif scribbled the notes down.

“I tell you, giving birth to Ichigo nearly tore me apart.” Karin said to Makava and Morgiana, smoking a cigarette. “He borrowed his father’s gigantism alright. Sure, it makes him tough, but he’s hard to feed.”

“Hehehe!” Sind blushed. “Well, Karin was tough, I had full confidence she would pull through.”

“It’s always the same with you superhumans,” Haruka Grayson said, “only enjoy hurting yourselves. I’ll stick with normal kids any day.”

“Well, normal bender kids, at least.” Lee Andrew replied.

“Wheeeeee!” Laruta Grayson came down the slide with Mack Strongarm. Laruta had sandy-blonde hair in a ponytail, a gray sweatshirt, matching pants, and purple square glasses, while Mack had black spiked hair with black glasses, a white T-shirt, and blue jeans. “Can’t catch me, Mack!” Laruta ran.

“Gah, curse my mother’s superior genes!” Mack cried, sweating as he ran.

“Maruta is another cute ship!” cheered Catsif.

“ERIDAN, tell your daughter to stop shipping people!” Karkat demanded.

“my daughter’s antics are beyond my control.” said Eridan.

“Ships are love, Karkat. Ships are LIFE!” 3:< Nepeta shouted.

“She’s RIGHT!” declared a cheerful boy. _Hallelujah!_ Everyone faced up at Max Mankanshoku Murphy, a boy with bowl-cut black hair, a black shirt, and blue shorts, crossing his arms above him. “Ships are what helped pirates cross the seas! Ships are what helped our parents save the day! Without someone to love, we have no drive, we have no ship! And with no ships, we might as well give ourselves to the sharks!”

“YEAH! Tell it like it is, Max!” Mako cheered for her son.

It was at this moment the playground began to tremble. “Hey… what’s going on?” Haruka asked.

“GUYS, HEEELP!” Isabelle Rivera, a Spanish girl with black hair in a ponytail, angel wings, and a brown ragged dress raced out of the playground. “Shimmy is about to drive the entire playground across the kingdom!”

“Come on, Isabelle, even Shimmy isn’t THAT crazy.” Aisa remarked.

But against her doubts, the entire playground fortress indeed snapped off its hinges and began moving across the land via mechanical wheels. “YEEHAAAAW!” Shimmy Ukeru was driving the playground with a steering wheel. She had black hair in standing pigtails and a pink dress with red polka-dots. “We’re finally OFF the rails, Ralph!”

“This is our finest work yet, Shimmy!” Ralph Gilligan raised a wrench. He had shiny blonde hair in an aviator’s hat, a blue button-up shirt with black gear-like cufflinks, and black pants with long white socks.

“RAAALPH!” Haylee shouted up at her son. “When did you have time to make the playground MOBILE?!”

“SHIMMY, GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!” Aeincha shouted from Chimney’s head.

“GO, SHIMMY, GO!” Chimney cheered for her daughter.

“She’ll never listen to me at this rate.” Aeincha drooped.

By the time it had fully gone, the cave area was torn down as well, exposing not only a confused Mika and Gabriel, but Perry Uno kissing a troll with red glasses and crab claw horns. “PERRY?!” Panini screamed.

“CANSEZ?!” Karkat shouted.

“Does… this… mean…?” Cheren hesitated.

“PERREEEEZ!” Catsif screamed. “The first human/troll hybrid is UNDERWAY!”

“No no no, it’s not what it looks like!” Perry shouted. “I just let her sniff my blood, then she wanted to taste my saliva!”

“I’M GONNA STRANGLE YOU, BRAT!” Karkat chased the dirty human.

“DON’T YOU DARE, CRABBY!” Panini chased him.

MaKayla Stork raised her Chrono Staff and turned time backwards, forcing the fortress to rewind and settle back in place. “Nnnnh?! Déjà vu?!” Shimmy exclaimed.

“When it comes to turning back time, Ruford, it’s best to only do a few minutes.” Kayla told her son. Ruford had brown hair, blue shorts, and a matching shirt.

“Yeah, yeah, limitations, power, etc..”

“Oi, let me go, you old git!” Jason squirmed when Chris tried to restrain him. “MUUUUM, Mr. Uno’s harassing me!”

“Your mom’s too lazy and Mason’s too weak to control you, so I have to do it.” Chris stated.

“ATTENTION, all Kids Next Door operatives!” someone shouted through a megaphone. He was Star Winkiebottom, a dark-skinned boy with mismatched yellow and black eyes, a tuxedo, and black and white hair. “It’s almost lunch time! Get down here and eat so you have more energy to burn!”

“FOOOOOOD!” Shimmy and Jason were excitedly racing down. Silica shot a glare at Aria and called off the chase for now. In moments, all the kids made their way down and waited for food cooked by Ichigo’s Aunt Yuzu.

“Hm hm hm.” Nebula giggled. “You’ve really got the talent, Star, taming all those little monsters.”

“It comes with the job.” Star replied humbly.

“It would work better if you made yourself more presentable.” Death the Kid stated. “When are you going to dye the other side of your hair?!”

“When will you dye yours, Dad?”

Kid’s heart shattered. “WAH HAH, I’m a failure as a role model!” He broke down and cried.

“Sigh, all great men break down eventually.” Nebula sighed. “I still don’t know why you call yourself Death the ‘Kid,’ though…”

**We know very well by now our Nextgen Kids are monsters. So, their kids are even crazier monsters.**


	2. Isabelle the Proud Shandian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miguel Rivera asks his daughter, Isabelle how she truly feels about her mother's traditions.

**This one-shot came into my head this morning. Meet Aisa’s daughter, everybody!**

Miguel Rivera, age 38, returned home after a long day of work. Though he was the one that paid bills in the family, “putting food on the table” was a different story. That honor went to his wife. She had a very traditional way of doing things, namely when it came to her food. As Miguel sat on the balcony, alone at his house, he knew his wife was at “work” already. Though she wasn’t the only one.

He heard somebody climbing the wall, and it wasn’t long before a girl’s head popped up from beneath. “Papá!” Isabelle beamed, both shocked and happy to find him up here.

“Welcome home, Isabelle.” Miguel greeted with a smile. “I thought your mom was doing the hunting today?”

“Well, she was, but I was a bit hungry and wanted a snack. I saved the tail if you want it.” She held up a severed squirrel’s tail.

“You know we have crackers in the cabinet, right?” he asked awkwardly.

“Bleck. Well, might as well eat while it’s fresh!” Isabelle stuffed the tail in her mouth and swallowed with one strong gulp.

Though Isabelle wore her father’s tan skin and could speak with a Spanish tongue, she had the blood and heart of a Shandian. This was also evidenced by the flightless angel wings on her back. Her lush black hair was in a ponytail, hanging by her legs, and she wore a traditional light-brown Indian’s dress. By 13 years old, she had never known footwear, even after traveling to and fro the forest several times, for her mother wished for her to be in touch with nature with each and every step.

Miguel sometimes accompanied them to the forest, where he would watch his daughter in action: she was as swift as an animal and could cross land or climb mountains and trees more naturally than any human. Whether outside or at the dinner table, Isabelle had no need for knives or forks, for her teeth could get the job done in a heartbeat. Their family never goes to restaurants, for her ill-mannered way of eating would earn nasty looks from the commonfolk.

But it was then Miguel noticed a trail of dry blood on Isabelle’s sturdy leg, and a leaf glued to the wound via sap. “Isa, you’re hurt!”

“Oh, yeah… bad tree branch.” The girl flushed. “Squirrel got one last attack before I choked him.”

“Ugh, I can’t believe you ran all the way back here with that injury. Come inside, we need to treat it.”

Miguel cleaned the blood off and rubbed medicine over the wound, Isa biting her tongue from the stinging pain. However, it went away after her father wrapped a bandage over it. “There. You really should’ve been with your mother if you were going hunting.”

“Papá, I’m 13 now. I know how to hunt for myself.”

“I just wish you knew how to hunt in a grocery store.”

“Ew. Well, gracias, Papá. Call me when Mamá gets home.” She pressed her feet to the floor and walked out of the bathroom, smiling as the pain in her leg was all gone.

Miguel watched as she entered her room, the door open just a crack. What followed was the tranquil rhythm of a harp. A stream of musical notes flowed out of the room: Music Chi was another gift she borrowed from her father.

Miguel peeked into her room, seeing Isabelle resting on her hammock, playing the instrument as she gazed at the ceiling. The forest wallpaper provided the illusion of being outdoors, as did the smooth wood floor. Yet, Isabelle’s room wasn’t completely abnormal. She had posters of her favorite Disney heroines, Pocahontas and Moana, stacks of music CDs with a stereo, and even a few dolls she wove herself. She was completely different at this point: outdoors, she was a hungry predator who choked animals with her bare hands, her feet equal to the speed of a squirrel, but in the safety and comfort of her home, she was as chill and relaxed as any teenage girl who got lost in her own hobbies.

There had been a question weighing on Miguel’s mind, and knowing that his daughter was becoming a mature and capable woman, he felt now was the time to ask. He knocked and called, “Isabelle?” His daughter stopped playing, looking up as her father entered. “Isa, I wanted to ask you something. …Do you like this tribal stuff? The hunting and the tattoos and… y’know, the injuries?”

“What do you mean? Of course I like it. Why would I do it if I didn’t like it?”

“It’s just… when I was your age, my family forced me to hide my musicbending. It was all part of some stupid tradition to hate music. And I just thought… do you only do all this because your mom wants you to?”

“Papá, it doesn’t matter if Mom wants me to or not.” She sat up, sporting a grin that brimmed with confidence in her answer (and rotten with squirrel). “I’m a Shandian! This is what we do!”

“I know, but… I feel kind of bad. When you were born, Aisa was so happy to see your wings. As soon as she saw them, she was so excited to teach you about her culture, and how to hunt. I feel like… if we didn’t influence you that way, you would’ve chosen your own path.”

“But Mamá told me that, even if I didn’t have my wings, I’m still a Shandian at heart.”

“No, you’re missing the point, Isa!”

“Hee hee hee! You’ve been watching too many movies, Papa! If people don’t like the way they were raised, that’s their problem!”

“Uh…” Miguel was at a loss as Isabelle hopped out of the hammock.

“As for me,” she did a twirl, the ponytail whipping like a chopper, “I love who I am! I love feeling the soil, the trees, and I love my culture! Even when I get hurt or people tease me, everything I do just feels so natural. I couldn’t picture it as any way else.”

That had always been something Miguel admired about his wife. She was so proud of her origins and her traditions, whereas he was forced into a life he didn’t enjoy. Still, after watching how Aisa raised their daughter, ensuring she would be completely adapted to Shandian lifestyle, he couldn’t help but see himself. “…Do you really feel that way?”

“Of course I do, Papá. Is there something bad about being a Shandian?”

Her dark eyes glimmered with only confidence and truth in her answer, and her smile showed no sign of faltering or regret. His worries had been misplaced, it seems. “…Nothing at all.” He smiled, ruffling her hair. “I’ve been watching too many movies.”

“Oi, Miguel! Isa! Help me cut your dinner up!” a voice called from outside.

“Oop, sounds like Mama’s home!” Isa jumped. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep this talk a secret~” She winked.

“You want extra allowance?”

“You know it. Now, let’s go eat!” The Shandian eagerly raced downstairs, Miguel following. As soon as they stepped outside-

“UUUAAAAAH?!” The husband was not expecting to see the corpse of a giant bear. Isabelle’s mouth was already drooling at the mass of meat.

“I thought my family deserved a feast today.” Aisa proclaimed. “I hope you brought empty stomachs.”

“Let me have taste test!” Isa jumped on the bear and tore off a chunk of flesh, which vanished down her throat.

“I was kind of in the mood for vegetable soup…” Miguel sighed.

**I feel like Isabelle will be one of the leading candidates for “best girl” in the Third Gen. She would make a good protagonist in her own story! This was also kind of a nod to that whole Disney cliché where the protagonist is tired of their everyday life or traditions (including Miguel), so Isa serves to break that tradition. XD Later on, I’ll whip up quick one-shots for other Third Gen Kids, to give people a better idea of their characteristics or relationships. And yes, _Coco_ is canon to the Gameverse, just add musicbending.**


	3. Erin the Weakling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erin Horvitz struggles to be a good swimmer and live up to her mother's expectations.

**I had this one-shot planned for a while, just wasn’t sure what approach to take.**

A major philosophy that all KND were quick to learn was simple biology. All sectors were balanced between strong operatives and weak ones, and a common misunderstanding was that all missions were won with strength. The wisest sectors knew that everyone’s talents contributed, but it didn’t change that strong operatives were the most popular and relied upon in any mission. In training, kids were quick to discover their best talents, and simply mastering one talent was enough to graduate, but the strongest cadets always showed off the most and earned the most praise.

Part of their strength or talent had to do with parentage. Many of their parents were former operatives, and the strongest parents gave birth to the strongest kids. If a parent’s talent was superior to their partner’s talent, it was believed that the child would inherent that talent and carry on the better genes.

Erin Horvitz wasn’t born with that privilege. Gasping heavily, her frail arms stroked the water, her fragile feet kicked backward, but the waves were too strong for her. Starting from the beach, she was determined to swim as far out to sea as possible, but her body wouldn’t let her. Her little heart was giving out on her, and water muddled her eyes, which were already blurry without her glasses. She was finally beginning to slow down and sink, and the sea would totally claim her in no time.

A pair of hands gently grabbed her arms and lifted her upright. “Alright, let’s take a moment to catch your breath and try again.” her mother said, putting Erin over her shoulders and swimming back to shore without losing an ounce of breath. Erin had only swam 20 feet from the beach, and such a distance was nothing to Melody. Upon returning to shore, Melody sat Erin on the sand, her daughter gasping. “Honestly, Erin, how many times do I have to tell you before you get it right?”

Looking up at her mother made Erin feel even scrawnier. She had one of the strongest and prettiest builds in town, emphasized more by her white two-piece swimwear. Compared to her, Erin had the build of a popsicle stick figure, and her orange one-piece completed the look. Her bones jittered with any physical activity. Coupled with her buckteeth, stuffy nose, and brown hair, she mirrored her father more than her mother. “It’ll be easier if I use waterbending.”

“The best way to master bending is to exercise without your bending. Get to know your element the normal way. But more importantly, don’t let Noka beat you!”

 _“Look, Miss Melody! I think this is a new record!”_ They looked out to sea, where another girl zoomed around the waves like a motorboat.

“Mrs. Horvitz?” They were approached by Mack Strongarm, who stuck to his normal white shirt and blue jeans instead of a swimsuit. “Your husband needs help finding the mail key.”

“Sigh, I knew he would lose it. I’ll be right back.” Melody left on that note.

Mack sat beside Erin, smiling as he handed back her round blue glasses. “These yours?”

“Who else?” Erin chuckled, putting her specs back on to restore her view of the beautiful ocean.

But what she saw instead was a giant grin on a tan face, which had spontaneously appeared out of nowhere. “Didja see me, Erin?!” Noka asked.

“AAAH!” Erin was blown back against Mack by no real force.

“I swam out a whole hundred feet!” Noka stretched to full height with a proud pose. “Where’d your mom go, I wanna know what she says!”

Wearing a two-piece swimsuit with an ocean waves design, Erin could easily picture Noka becoming a model in her adult years. She had tan skin, chocolate hair in long pigtails, and sharp blue eyes. She was 11, a year older than Erin, but a head taller. Noka Asahina was confident in everything she did, for she had the strong, tall, and pretty body to carry her. “Uh, she went somewhere.” Erin replied.

“Hm?” Noka felt sadness in her voice. “What’s the matter, Erin?” She sat with her friends.

“It’s just, my mom has all these expectations for me. I feel like she’s disappointed because I’m not strong like her.”

“Who could ever be disappointed in YOU, Erin?!” Noka gasped, grabbing her leader’s shoulders and shaking her. “You’re one of the sweetest, cutest girls I know! Who cares if you’re not strong?!”

“Aaaaah! You can say it without disorganizing my organs!”

“Ease down, Noky.” Mack said, pulling her hands off. “Your mom’s not disappointed in you. We all made the choice of being operatives, so our parents’ job is to train us. Your mom’s no different from mine or anyone else’s.”

“But my training just feels so pointless. Just look at all the other strong operatives. Christina, Joto, Karma, Jason… all of them are so strong without even trying to be, because they were born to strong moms or dads, but I didn’t get my mom’s strength. And look at you, Noka. Your dad’s an Adabatian and your mom’s a Fanalis. It’s no surprise you’d be super strong and great at waterbending. Watching you just makes me feel worse…”

“I’m so sorry!! I never wanted you to feel bad!” Noka shouted, as sensitive as always. “Okay, I’ll stop! I’ll start doing bad in training, I don’t want you to lose your confidence!”

“No, that’s not what I wanted! It’s just… you two do all the work on missions. Noka beats up all the enemies, Mack thinks up all the strategies… The only reason I’m your leader is because I’m Melody’s daughter, but I feel more like a sidekick.”

“That may be Noka’s reason, but I don’t really care about that.” Mack replied. “I just think you make a better leader. You’re a nice girl who’s comfortable to be around.”

“Yeah, I think so, too!” Noka stated. “Plus, you’re way smarter than me! You always tell me not to do something dangerous, but I do it anyway, and I totally get wrecked! If I was leading us, I would seriously die! And, prob’ly you guys, too. The point is, I would be lost without you!”

“Huhu… thanks, I guess. I mean, I can never tell you to stop in time, you’re always so fast…”

“Then I’ll slow down from now on! Anything for you!” Noka grabbed her friend in a hug.

“Ack! Okay, please, let go!” Erin always felt her weakest in Noka’s hugs. There was no escape on her own, and she might suffocate in 20 seconds if Noka wouldn’t let go. She caught her breath and rubbed the sore spots. “Well… ’guess I better try again.” Erin pushed herself up and walked to the sea, her team watching as she submerged and swam for open waters.

When Melody returned, she was surprised to see that her daughter had gone to sea on her own. “I thought she would wait for me to come back.”

“’Guess she got a little impatient.” Mack replied.

“Your daughter’s so amazing, Miss Melody!” Noka cheered, fists balled in excitement. “She’s determined to make you proud! I wish I could be as weak as her and know how she feels!”

“Te he…” Melody chuckled. “She shouldn’t worry about making _me_ proud. She should worry about you guys. She needs to be strong enough to help her team when they need it. When I’m not around, you guys are her teachers, you know.”

“She’s plenty strong already!” Noka beamed. “But if she’s not strong enough, I’ll give her some of my own!”

“And there’s plenty of brain in here if she needs a spare!” Mack grinned proudly.

“Hehe… then you better take good care of her.”

Erin kept swimming, more determined to reach the horizon. She couldn’t keep relying on her teammates to win everything. It wasn’t enough to have niceness or caution, she had to be strong, too. Even if she could never have beauty, smarts, or muscles, she would still try to swim as far as possible, to keep up with them as best as she could.


	4. Fishing Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris Uno takes his daughter, Christina on a special training trip.

**This one-shot is inspired from the greatest mini-game in all of _Zelda_!**

“So, Dad, are we going to beat up another Mountain Boar?!”

“Nah, you’re too used to giant monsters at this point.”

“’kay, so what kinda training we doing?”

“Something a little new.”

“Ooooo! You’re gonna teach me to use Haki with firebending, right?!”

“I don’t even know Haki, let alone how to mix bending with it. Besides, Mom says you’re still a beginner.”

Chris Uno adored his daughter and loved to spend time with her. She was full of energy and was always dying to let it out. He and Maddy would always receive calls from her teachers about Christina getting in fights, breaking down walls, receiving detentions, but destroying the detention rooms. Friends or strangers, she had an urge to beat up anybody, but for the sake of no extra costs, Chris had to be sure to spend time whenever necessary. He and his wife were the only ones who could survive their daughter’s beatings, making her exhaust herself so she wouldn’t get in trouble at school.

Christina smooshed her face to the window of the R.O.A.D.S.T.A.R., seeing they were entering a beautiful mountain zone. “Ohhhhh… you’re gonna teach me how to awaken my Combustion Eye, right??”

“I think you have to be born with that, sweetheart.” Chris chuckled. “But I think you’ll really like what I have planned.”

“Then gimme your best shot, Daddy-O.” Christina kicked her sandaled feet up against the windshield. “I’m ready for whatever ya got!” Her grin sparkled with cockiness.

…

She would later be sitting in a boat as opposed to a car, and her expression opposite as well. “UUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuggggggghhhhh.”

The lake was so clear and calm that it seemed like a mirror, the mountains perfectly inverted with the morning sky beneath them. There were few other boats and people drifting on the lake, but Chris and his daughter were rather far from anyone else. Fishing rods rested in either’s hands. Chris’s posture was calm and composed, while his daughter lazily lie in the deck, legs skyward, and fingers barely clutching the rod.

“I can’t believe you would pull a dumb dad trap like this. Fishing is soooooooo booooooooriiiiiinnnng.”

“Good.” Chris replied simply. “A little boredom is healthy.”

“Noooo, it’s sickeniiiiinnng.” Her legs fell and hung over the side. “Why didn’t you take Perry? He’s the dork who loves fishiiiing.”

“It’s Cheren’s job to take his son fishing. I want you to appreciate nature more, Christina. Get your head out of fighting and take in the sights. Let the crisp mountain air enter your soul.”

“This is the worst thing ever.” She lazily kicked the air. “You’re lame, Daddy-O. Laaaaaaaame.”

“Christina, we’re not leaving until you catch some fish. This is your training: learning patience and serenity.”

“Bmuuuurrrrb.”

They had been fishing for half an hour. Chris caught a few large fish and threw them back. His daughter hadn’t sat up all that time. Her rod had been in the water, but she wasn’t holding. “Christina, you’re not gonna catch any looking like that. If you’re not interested in them, they won’t be interested in you.”

“Can’t I just dive in and catch them myself? Th’would be more exciting th’n…”

“Christina, get on your lazy butt and catch some damn fish.”

Her mind reacted to her father’s anger, so she sat up and crossed her legs. “Hhhhhhhhffff…” Her nostrils expressed her boredom as she held the rod a bit more firmly. Her eyes shifted to the sky, growing lost in dreamland. “Yip-!” She almost dropped the rod, but caught it. It was trying to tug itself away, requiring her to tighten her grip. “Errrrgh…!”

“That-a girl.” Chris smiled. “Looks like you finally got one.”

“Ergh… at least I might get a meal.” Christina smirked. “Cooooome to… Ma—MAAAAAAH!”

What appeared to be a baby whale with wide, creepy eyes and huge, human-like teeth, clenched the string. It ferociously tugged, rocking the family’s boat, until Christina released the rod. The whale returned underwater, the family falling over as their boat slowed to a halt. “Whoa…” Chris sat up, face in awe. “Was that… Baby Big-Tooth Bertha? I heard a fisherman needs extreme patience to even have a chance of reeling that sucker in. …You must’ve been so bored that you accidentally lured it in. That’s really amazing-”

“Ohhhhhhhhhh HEEEEEEEEEEELL YEEEEEAAAAH!” Christina’s mouth and eyes grew inhumanly wide, her face flushed with desire. She ditched her sandals and dove into the lake.

“CHRISTINA, NO-…!” Chris knew trying to catch her was pointless. “…Uuuuuuuuuuuuuggggghhh.”

Falling back on the boat, he was no different from his daughter a moment ago. He could only wait. **BAM!** Some water burst up a few feet away. **BOOM!** More burst up from the opposite side. There were fireworks beneath the lake conjured by Christina’s firebending. She was chasing Baby Big-Tooth in circles, brawling the whale and stirring waves. Chris’s boat rocked like a surfboard, but still he lay bored.

And with one tremendous rising of water, the Baby Bertha blew out in an arched pose, Christina’s fist up against the curve of the arch. “YOU’RE MIIIIIIIIIIIINE!” One extra punch blasted Bertha to the shore. “SWEET! I am gonna get fat tonight!”

“We have to return him to the lake. Park rules.” Chris said.

“Not without a picture!”

Christina would go on to admire the photo on the drive home, of herself resting on the beached baby whale. “Dad… thanks for taking me fishing. That was a lot-a fun.”

“Heh… I’m glad you’re happy.” He sighed and smiled. Sadly, violence was the only thing that brought her joy. But a happy daughter still warmed his heart.

“Bet ya Perry never got a fish that big.”

“Heh, he’ll have quite the competition. Cheren’ll have to train him a lot harder.”

…

Christina smirked proudly, firmly holding the photo before her little cousin’s eyes. “Hmmm… pretty cool.” he said after much thought.

“HAH! You’re so damn jealous, I can taste it!”

“Eh, not really.” replied the freckle-faced boy with a blush. “It’s not as cool as this Queen Merfish.”

Perry held up a photo; Christina’s eyes popped: her cousin was standing before a colossal, feminine fish with a black head, large pink lips, a see-through veil of hair, and very long pink tail that curved around the foreground. “Grrrrrr! YOU CHEATED AND I’LL PROVE IT!” She made her point by blasting Perry to the sky with an uppercut.

“Christina! No doing the ‘Team Rocket Blastoff’ on your cousin!” Chris ordered.

“Don’t worry, he packed the sail this time.” Cheren assured.


	5. Silica's Stream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Silica York tries to host a videogame stream, but is annoyed by her father.

**Introducing the most relatable Third Gen Kid!**

****

**_

Legend of the Seven Lights  
Any%

_**

****

_Stage 6: Toons in Trouble_

_Mission: Follow Murfy into the castle._

Murfy flew fast through the forest of giant trees, evading the gunshots of the Hoodlums while carrying Sheila. “Yeah, we got another automated section here.” Silica said into her headpiece. “It’s not as long as the music levels, but I can’t pull any tricks.”

Her movements with the Control Stick were like the wind. The Hoodlums had zero chance of hitting her. Such flawless skill was the very reason millions were online, watching her stream. Silica York was famous the universe over as the Ultimate Gamer, her 10-year-old eyes narrowed in sheer focus, her fingers in constant motion. Of course, they expected nothing less from the daughter of Carol Masterson, the creator and developer of the _Kids Next Door_ game franchise.

Silica’s room, as was partly visible in her mini-screen, contained a bed resembling a giant game console. Her desk had towers of games, and she had her own hi-def TV for the best experience. In the luxury and comfort of her mansion, there was little to disturb her technique. Still, based on her clothing and demeanor, one wouldn’t assume her to be so very rich. She was cozy in her warm black sweater and blue sweatpants, legs spread on the floor in her socks. Her pigtails were spiked, a blue streak cut across the middle of her hair, and she had a slightly big nose and chubby cheeks on her scowling, freckled face. Silica had snacks and drinks with her, but would only help herself during Stage Results screens. Her sloppy way of eating showed no manners for such a rich person, but such behavior actually made her more popular.

Once the flight section was over, Silica mashed the buttons to skip the cutscene. Sheila was now on foot, bolting past all the Hoodlums as her controller gave no care. “EmilyNerd43 says, ‘Why did your mom include that Easter Egg of Mrs. Dickson in the shower?’ I assume one of the developers just wanted more fanservice, got nothin’ to do with-”

 _Knock knock knock._ Silica’s nostrils flared and eyes swelled. The only reason that sound would be heard at her door was because someone was too stupid to read the signs. “Silica, it’s your daddy! Are you busy?”

“Go… away… Dad…” Silica whispered through her teeth, hoping the message would telepathically reach.

There were all kinds of ‘KEEP OUT’ or ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ signs on his daughter’s door. However, with a carefree smile, Dillon York cracked open the door. “Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to do something-”

 _GROWWWWLLL…_ Silica’s shadow, Inky hissed venomously at the intruder. Dillon had never known a scarier shadow, as black and all-eclipsing as her name. Although Dillon didn’t fear his daughter’s shadow, it was clear she was solely determined to protect her master.

“Silica, do you wanna go do something together?”

“Dad…? I am doing… a speed run…” Silica spoke calmly and slowly, making sure her father could understand. “A speed run… for charity… and I need full concentration… so please… wait until I’m finished…”

Dillon walked in to see the TV, Inky hissing and watching to make sure he wouldn’t disturb. Dillon cocked a brow as Sheila appeared to be pressing against a Hoodlum, taking rapid damage while Silica mashed a combination of buttons. “You know Sheila can do ranged attacks, right?”

“Uck…Dad… I’m performing a strategy. See for yourself.”

Dillon watched as Sheila suddenly launched across a chunk of the level. “Heh. The real Sheila would be jealous. Hey, can we play together?”

“You don’t know the strats, Dad, the run would take longer. …FirebenderSupreme77 asks, ‘What’s your schedule for this week, Sill?’ Tonight, I’m gonna do a quick run of _MASKED_ , tomorrow I’m doing 100% of _Pirate Wars_ , and Friday’s going to be 100% _The Last_ , including the Under Army DLC and all Meta-Darkness battles. Next week, I’m doing a 100% run of this game, then I’m doing _Candied Adventure_ with the _Veggie Heist_ DLC…”

“Heh, your schedule’s really packed.” Dillon chuckled.

“Yeah, so if you wanna spend time, just log on a computer and watch…”

Dillon sighed, choosing to accept his daughter’s wishes and leave. After all, having grown up with games himself, he was wise not to disturb his daughter in her quest for a World Record. Especially when so many fans were watching. This was a regular routine on Silica’s schedule. People would donate money to her streams, which would go to charity, so it wasn’t like there was no worth in her playtime.

Plus, it wasn’t like the father had anything else to do. His wife was making money by the minute, so he didn’t really need to work aside from helping clean the house. What better pastime than watching his little gamer relive his friends’ adventures? So, Dillon sat at his room computer and searched for his daughter’s stream.

Silica was playing the Starship Vorselon level, using Maddy to shoot against the wall of the spaceship and clip through. She and her team ended up falling into space, cutting to the part where Drake harpooned them across the exterior (even though Silica skipped the part where they rescued Drake). “Minisaela asks, ‘What’s your least-favorite level?’ Definitely the Guertena Gallery ’cause you can’t do anything besides walk around and examine paintings. Even in 100% runs, it’s just a bunch of stick movements and quick button taps. Huh?”

A comment from “Darkseed1336” appeared in the chat. _Haha, Maddy looks so different without her Haki!_

“Ugh…Dad…” Silica rolled her eyes at such a silly comment.

When Silica got to the Civic City level, she was already having Sandman fly to Freddy’s Pizzeria. She spammed Explosive Gel against a corner of the building, causing Sandman to clip inside. Sandman performed swift, precise flips in going through the glitchy pizzeria and recovering the Shock Rod, shortly before The Puppet killed her. Dillon commented, _Silica, you aren’t supposed to go there, yet, you can’t stop The Puppet._

“Dad, I’m doing the Civic City Skip? Even though the pizzeria is already open to you, most players think you can’t complete it until later, but if you can pull it off, you skip a chunk of levels. Which also means Suki won’t Awaken as a Light, but who cares.”

Dillon watched as Silica clipped into the Pizzeria again, making her way to the Puppet’s boss room. She would defeat The Puppet without even using the cameras, and after skipping some cutscenes, Silica was already at the King’s Den level. “Whoa… cool!” Dillon beamed. “But doesn’t that mean you’re missing the Rock Pikmin?”

“Pfft, we don’t need the Rock Pikmin.” Silica snorted.

Most of Silica’s techniques involved clipping through walls, which was easy in Wendy’s levels and even Rupert’s. Rupert could glitch through the floor and suddenly reappear at a higher ground, which made getting through the Dressrosa level easy. “Darkseed1336 asks, ‘Would you ever want to be a Minish explorer?’ Pfft, no way. If I was that small, I couldn’t tease Minisaela. Ain’t that right, Shorty?” She smirked at the screen.

Minisaela wrote, _*shakes fist at big fat human in anger*_

When she got to the Forest of Twilight, Dillon watched as his younger self swiftly slipped past enemies and maneuvered through the forest as if he already knew it like the back of his hand. “Darkseed says, ‘Hey, look, Sill, you’re controlling me!’ Hardy har, Dad, I sure am. Maybe I can make you stop embarrassing yourself.”

After about five hours of gaming, Silica was at the final boss with Ragaj Gnik. Like the other bosses before him, Silica performed swift, strong attacks, expert dodges, suffered no damage, and defeated the boss perfectly. “YES! Game finished!” Silica fell on her back with a satisfied smile. “Let’s watch the Apocalypse and enjoy a World Record!”

Dillon chuckled at her carefreeness. It was so strange to watch their most stressful adventure fly by in the blink of an eye. When the stream ended, Dillon returned to his daughter’s room, Silica standing and stretching. “Okay, Dad… whaddo you wanna do?”

“Wanna do a 3-player run of your Grandpa’s levels? Inky can be the other controller?”

“Let’s just do a few. I’m starting the _MASKED_ run in an hour.”

Dillon assumed control of Yuki, Silica controlled Sandman, and Inky Wiccan. She was constantly running ahead of her father and beating enemies before Dillon could even think. “Heh heh…” Dillon blushed, feeling so lame next to his daughter. “How come I don’t get to be part of your streams? I lived some of these adventures, I like to give my input.”

“It isn’t about giving input, it’s trying to beat the games as fast as possible. Make your own stream if you wanna do that.”

“The point of these games isn’t just to ‘beat them fast.’ Your mom made them to-”

“Yes, to document your friends’ adventures so everyone could understand all the hardships you went through. Honestly, Dad, if Mom wanted to make a game with my adventures, I would want her to leave out all those embarrassing ‘character development’ moments. Like, isn’t it humiliating? Having millions of people watch your most sensitive moments?”

“Yes, it is embarrassing.” Dillon blushed. “But it gives us good reviews, and reviews make money. I know you like high scores, Sill, but I don’t want you to forget why these games are important to us.”

“I know, Dad…” Silica’s eyebrows curved up in a sympathetic fashion. “The character arcs within these games are… very objectively pleasing. And I hope other players will come to experience them as well as I have.”

“I very objectively hope so, too.” Dillon grinned, patting her back.

“Good, it seems like your stream is done.” They turned to find the lady of the manor at the door. Carol’s fluffy blonde hair was wrapped in a bun, and her elegant light-green dress and high-heels made her truly stand out from her husband and daughter. “It’s time for dinner, Silica, hurry down.”

“But it’s almost time for my _Operation: MASKED_ stream!”

“You’ve been streaming all day, and your breath smells like potato chips! Go brush your teeth first.”

“Fine, but I’m chewing quickly.” Silica marched out of the room in a huff.

“Oh, and your father is joining you on your stream, or I’m asking Laruta to extend your workout time.”

“UUUUUUGGGGHHH…” Silica moaned and made the face of a strange animal.

Dillon walked with his wife to the dining room, chuckling at Silica’s response. “Aren’t you worried that she’s getting too addicted?” Carol asked.

“The others say she does well on missions… with the right motivation. Besides, maybe these crazy techniques she pulls off will give her some combat ideas.”

“I don’t think depleting her health to perform a ‘ghost flight’ glitch will work in real life.”

“Either way, I’m glad that she enjoys our adventures so much! Watching them all over again, with the way she plays… it makes them seem more pleasant in hindsight. Hehe, and she makes us all look so silly!”

“Probably you more than me~. But you take care of her when I’m not around, okay?”

“No worries. I wouldn’t miss her streams for the world!”

As soon as dinner was finished, Dillon joined Silica up in her room, enjoying a fun session of Cheren glitching his way through Termina.


	6. Pirates vs. Bandits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Isabelle attack a fort of robbers on Planet Historia.

Anyone ever heard of a novel called Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter? It was made into a 3D anime and I watched it some time ago. If anyone’s a fan of Studio Ghibli, you might like it, it’s a cute series!

Pirates vs. Bandits

Historia; Rumphob Woods

The Rumphob Woods was considered a dangerous territory that the locals of the nearby towns feared to venture through. The woods were the lair of a mighty clan of bandits that preyed upon those bold enough to cross the woods. The governor would send his soldiers in to hunt the robbers, and though they knew where they were based, their fortress was impregnable.

The Robbers Fort was a towering structure, supposedly with more space than they knew what to do with. Its most distinctive sign was the gap that was split perfectly down the middle, dividing the fortress and its many layers into two halves, connected only by bridges with fences. This gap, known as Hell’s Gap, was created by a bolt of lightning that split the fortress from the heavens. The legend says that this bolt was a sign that the wives of the two chieftains of the Robbers Clan had given birth. Two children, the heirs of the robbers, were born on the same night, under the storm. A new era had begun for the robbers, and they would no doubt be stronger than ever.

“WAAAAAHH!” cried Lill Klippen, a man with shaggy blonde hair and a green tunic. “HELP, MATTIS! These children are monsters, they-!”

A Light Sphere struck him in the back and took the cowardly robber down. “Hee hee hee hee!” snickered Jason Dimalanta with a bright grin. The young pirate had messy black hair and blue eyes. He wore an open green vest with black shorts and green sandals. His skin was tan, and he was most defined by his raccoon ears and tail. “Orright, we got all their loot! You’d better protect me rear, Bella!”

“Don’t you mean the ‘stern,’ Captain?” asked Isabelle Rivera, seated on the large sack of treasure.

“’ey, you know what I mean! Let’s just blow it!”

Though his young body was much smaller than the sack he was carrying, Jason had more than enough strength to pull it as he ran, even with Isabelle’s weight on it. Jason pulled it through the entrance of the fort that they had torn down earlier, bolting down the path leading to the forest. Isabelle shot arrows to thwart the robbers giving pursuit. “’ey, Bella, get ready to fly!”

Isabelle about-faced: they were now charging through the narrow canyon that connected the forest with the fort, in which robbers were stationed on a bridge above, with other robbers ready to block the way underneath. Isabelle held tight to the sack: Jason hauled it overhead and blasted it to the sky with a powerful kick! The robbers were agape as their valuables flew above their reach. This left the ground guards distracted as Jason blew through then with a spinning punch!

Jason raised his hands to catch the sack, keeping it overhead as he ran steadfastly. Isabelle grinned and waved the robbers good-bye, giggling at their dumbfounded expressions.

Jason and Isabelle set the valuables down by a large tree in the forest. “Yee hee hee! Goes to show even the mightiest and fiercest of robbers are no match to kids of the sea!”

“Hee hee, we’re gonna get in big trouble for this!” Isabelle laughed.

“Hey, they were robbers to begin with, it’s not like they’re gonna call the guards!”

“Hehe, I guess not!”

The friends laughed for a moment longer. “…!” Isabelle gasped. “JASON!” She grabbed her friend and jumped aside, dodging an arrow. Jason reactively shot a Light Sphere to the tree it came from, and they saw a girl jump off.

They heard rapid footsteps behind them and whipped around, seeing an orange-haired boy dash up with a knife. He dodged Jason’s sphere by a heartbeat and decided to retreat. Both he and the girl joined sides.

“Who do you think you are stealin’ from our fathers?!” asked the boy, Birk. He had fierce blue eyes with a blue tunic and yellow tights.

“Are you from some new clan of robbers?” asked the girl, Ronja with a glare. She had messy brown hair and a pink tunic, and like her friend, she had yellow tights and bare feet. Both kids were about 10 years old.

“Yeh, but we ain’t like you bandits, we’re pirates.” Jason stated. “We sail the sea in search of adventure and treasure! We ain’t the type to just root ourselves to one piece o’ land. Don’t ya get bored explorin’ the same forest over an’ over?”

“I’ll have you know we love our forest very much.” Ronja stated. She and Birk spoke Swedish, but Isabelle and Jason had been given knowledge of the language by a Glomourian who worked at the travel agency. “But what business do you have stealin’ from our fort?”

“’Cause I wanted to see how strong you robbers really were. We beat you lot fair and square, so the spoils are ours!”

“I’ve got nothin’ against you, I was just tagging along with Jason.” Bella explained sheepishly. “I had a ton of fun though! Besides, we only stole the treasure, we didn’t take your food or anything.”

“Well, we’re not beaten, yet! Now you’ve got us to deal with!”

“I’ve got the boy, Ronja!” Birk smirked. “You take care of the girl!”

“You got it!” Ronja ran to her right and shot an arrow at Bella, who dodged and returned her own arrow. Ronja took refuge up a tree, but Isabelle dodged her way up to the tree, climbing it with natural ability. Ronja jumped to the branch of another tree, shooting the previous branch just as Isabelle stepped onto it. As she fell, she swiftly grabbed her harp and strummed a Song Road to carry her to Ronja. The robber gasped in shock and quickly jumped down the tree.

Birk dashed up to Jason directly, slashing the knife with clean swings. Jason dodged the swings and did a spin to whack Birk away with his tail. Birk spun to face Jason again, dodging his Light Spheres before suddenly tossing his knife. Jason yelped as the knife cut his left hip, but the Faunus ran to seize the weapon. Jason bent the knife like a boomerang and ripped off the hilt with his strength. Birk growled and decided to charge the pirate, dodging his spheres and linking hands with him. Jason’s hands were much bigger and bulkier than Birk, but the robber used them as suspenders as he kicked up against Jason’s jaw, stamping against his chest repeatedly before he could free himself.

Ronja ran around a few trees to lose Isabelle, but the Shandian tracked her using Haki. When turning around a tree, Ronja grabbed a rock larger than her hands, and she dropped it behind another tree, tricking Isabelle into tripping on it. She couldn’t shake off the pain in her toes before Ronja jumped and clawed at her face. Bella punched the robber, and then Ronja jumped up and off, grabbing a branch up above and tearing hard enough to rip it off and bash Bella’s head.

Birk bolted from Jason around the trees, easily evading the pirate’s attacks. He passed Ronja when going around a tree, and the female robber jumped and stamped Jason’s face with both feet before resuming escape. Isabelle helped her friend up, seeing both robbers try to confuse them around various trees. “Speedy little blokes, ain’t they?” Jason remarked.

“You’d be a lot faster if you ditched the sandals~” Isabelle inferred.

“I saw you trip on that rock, you proved nothing.”

“Well, what’s your plan?”

“I’m giving them less room to run!” Jason raised his fist, channeled chi into it, and PUNCHED the tree with enough force to snap the trunk and make it topple.

Ronja gasped at this action, but Jason mercilessly ran up to her, and though she dodged, he punched and toppled the tree behind her. “HEY! Tearing down the forest is going too far!”

“Just run for it, Ronja, this kid is crazy!” Birk grabbed his friend’s arm and pulled. Jason pursued the robbers and took down every tree that they passed.

From far away, a dark-skinned boy with black and white hair and a blue-skinned girl with pink hair saw trees falling in the distance. “Oh, boy… What’ve they gotten themselves into?” asked Star Winkiebottom.

“Let’s go see.” replied Tiffi, her star-shaped spectacles twinkling with curiosity.

Jason was able to make two large trees fall to form a “V” shape, trapping Ronja and Birk in a corner. Both robbers faced the pirate, gritting their teeth with anger. Isabelle had also perched herself on the connecting point of the trees, smirking with an arrow ready. “ISABELLE! JASON! What do you think you’re doing?!”

Isabelle turned, seeing Star and Tiffi hurrying over. Both kids were wearing tunics and boots fit for this setting. Jason climbed onto a tree as well. “Oh, hi, Star! It’s orright, we were just beatin’ up some robbers.”

“What robbers?! Do you realize how much trouble we could get in?!”

“Whoever you are,” Ronja yelled, “could you please tell this brat to stop destroying our forest?!”

The six kids later gathered by the large tree where the treasure was left. “Okay, I’m sorry for wreckin’ your fort.” Jason sighed. “I got nothin’ against you lot, it’s just a tradition me mum told me about. Pirates and bandits are natural enemies, so when I heard about ya, I just felt like challenging ya!” He flashed a big grin.

“Hey, everyone likes a good rivalry.” Birk said. “But you got a bit too carried away.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t have done that if we weren’t giving them a hard time.” Ronja smiled proudly.

“Hehe, you got us there.” Bella grinned. “We should’ve known better than to underestimate the robbers of the woods.”

“I’d hate to leave the forest in this state though.” Star replied. “We’ll have to come back with Lily or a few plantbender operatives. They could probably set it straight again.”

“Some of this treasure seems kinda cool.” Tiffi said as she dug through the sack. “Can we at least keep some of it?”

“HEY! YOU LOT!”

The kids whipped around, spotting a horde of armored guards. “Are you brats part of the robbers?! What’ve you done to the forest?! And what’s all that loot you have?! You brats are comin’ to the dungeon!”

The robbers turned to the pirates as Ronja asked, “Want to call a truce?”

“Yeh, you got it.” Jason smirked and cracked his knuckles. “If pirates and robbers have one thing in common…”

“WE HATE LAW OFFICIALS!” Isabelle cheered. “AAAAAHHH!”

The four kids charged the soldiers. There was thunderous pounding and men flying into the air. Jason dented their armor, Isabelle kicked the heads off their spears, Ronja shot their weak spots, and Birk grabbed his bent knife and threw it like a boomerang, cutting their soft spots as it came right back. Star and Tiffi merely watched the violence with disbelief. “You’re probably gonna have to warp us home.” Tiffi said.

“I’m feelin’ that spirit of adventure~…” Star sighed.


	7. Jolene the Miracle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jataro Kemuri's wife wishes to have a child, despite her terrible physical condition.

**Our next kid comes from a more recent couple!**

****

**_

Jolene the Miracle

_**

****

_“AAAAAAAAAHHHH! AAAAAHHH, MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!”_

These sounds had plagued Jataro’s ears for almost nine months. He just didn’t understand why she wanted this. Why did she want to put herself through such torture?

His wife, E. Carmine-Kemuri, had been in a terrible accident as a child, forever ruining her skin. She looked positively atrocious, and her melted flesh was extremely sensitive to anything. She had gone through most of her life wearing a protective suit and gas mask. However, despite fearing that she would never find love, she met Jataro, a rather problematic, confusing boy. They found a deep connection and understanding with one another, and once they reached maturity, they married. Naturally, she wore her suit during most of the wedding, until she raised her helmet for the kiss.

Still, after all these years, Carmine still hated how she looked and hated her condition. She was so happy and grateful that a boy as sweet as Jataro would want to be with her, but now that they had come this far, she wanted more. Eventually, the topic came up: what about having kids? It was tradition amongst all of their friends to have kids and create the next generation of Kids Next Door, create the next symbols of hope for the future. Of course, this was especially priority for the next Firstborn Guardians, but even those would-be legends would need friends and allies.

_“Alright, so… what should we do?” Jataro asked. “Should we adopt? …Or, um…” He hesitated to suggest that they find a surrogate mother._

_“Jataro… I…” Carmine seemed hesitant as well. “I want… to have a child.”_

_“I know. That’s why I asked…”_

_“No, Jataro. I don’t want to adopt and I don’t want a surrogate. I want to give birth to a child myself.”_

_“…” Jataro had no idea how to respond. He really didn’t expect that. Was it even possible? Why would she… “What?”_

_“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time… I was wondering if someone as ugly as me… could still create something beautiful.”_

_“Carmine, you_ are _beautiful. You know you’re beautiful. And I…I would really like to ‘sleep’ with you…” Now that Jataro thought about it, it would be his first time. “But you know how sensitive you are. You’ll… y-you won’t be able to handle it.”_

_“I’ve been training, Jataro. I ask you to give me massages, I try to take barefoot walks, try to take proper baths, all to fight my sensitivity. All to prepare myself for… if that time comes. Please… do this for me. No matter how much I cry or scream, don’t stop. Please…”_

_“I…I need to think about this. …And I should… probably watch a few instructional videos.”_

_“Heh heh… well, take your time. And if you really don’t feel comfortable with it… I guess that’s fine.”_

But they did. It was the most horrible experience Jataro had ever endured, required each and every ounce of his courage and patience. And then, his wife became pregnant. He had to question if her weak, ruined body could truly support a baby, but that’s probably what she wanted to know, too. No matter how much she was told she was beautiful, she just couldn’t accept it. Her dying wish was to prove her beauty once and for all. But Jataro really didn’t want to do this. He felt nothing but fear, fear that his wife wouldn’t survive, fear that the baby wouldn’t make it… and fear that he would never find a woman as kind and beautiful as her again.

And yet, he couldn’t believe they had made it to the climax of the pregnancy, the ninth month when everything was decided. Endless cries and pleas to “make it stop, make it stop” would conclude at this. It helped that they had the most reliable doctor, Haruka to help with this operation, along with Melody to help soothe the pain. Still, the strongest person here was, without doubt, Carmine. She never had the superhuman abilities that fellow KND had… or maybe she was reserving them all for this very moment. Honestly, how could anyone doubt her strength after this?

“It’s time, Melody!” Haruka yelled. “Get ready!”

“Okay, Carmine! Here it comes!”

One final, ear-piercing scream ruptured the air…

**Four years later**

Jolene Kemuri loved to run around in the backyard. She would often climb on the fence and make a jump, stamping the ground with enough force to spring a rock up. Afterwards, she would climb that rock and tried to push it back down again. The three-year-old girl had blonde hair tied in pigtails and a frilly white dress with white strap-on shoes. Her blue eyes glittered with life on her pudgy face.

After the pregnancy, Carmine was confined to a wheelchair most of the time. She had next to no strength to spare… but she was happy. It was all worth it to see such a precious little angel running around.

“Mama, can we go to the playground?” she came up and asked her.

“Sure, Jolene… but you promise not to hurt your knee this time, right?”

“Ya, I’ll be careful.”

Jataro would push his wife’s wheelchair as they strolled to the park, letting Jolene bounce ahead. “Jataro… I wonder… should we really let her join the KND?”

“That’s really up to her to decide.”

“I just… I don’t want the same thing to happen again. What if she gets in an accident just like I did? She’s the most beautiful thing in our world… I don’t want anything awful to…”

“You worked harder than any other parent, Carmine. Even Karin had an easier pregnancy. Our daughter is a miracle. She’s a blessing on the world. Whether she chooses to join KND or not… she’ll grow up happy and healthy.”

“I…I wish…” Carmine truly wanted to believe that, but it just wasn’t possible for anyone. Jolene would grow up always worrying for her helpless mother, having to help take care of her, and any cruel children would probably bully Jolene because of her mother’s condition. “Even so… I was allowed to live. I nearly gave my life to give her life… and I still have some to spare. I want to be with her as long as possible… and give her every ounce of my love and faith.”

“I will, too. I promise, Carmine… no matter what bad things happen, she will live happily.”


	8. Robi’s Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robi McKenzie and his friend, Lily take a nap in the garden.

**How many people here can’t resist an afternoon nap?**

****

**_

Robi’s Garden

_**

****

Robi McKenzie didn’t like school. This was common for most 6-year-old boys like himself. It wasn’t necessarily because school was long and boring, but it was because of all the rowdy, immature students. He felt cramped and stuffy in the classrooms, the seats uncomfortable, and he would find himself gazing out the window, longing for the beautiful day outside.

Robi was a small and soft-spoken boy, and his appearance reflected his gentle, fluffy, and soft demeanor. His hair was orange and frizzy, he wore a cozy green sweater and brown khaki pants. He had dark-green glasses over his lighter green eyes, as well as freckles and buckteeth. Robi disliked wearing shoes, though because of his large feet, he liked to wear heavy clothes to make himself look proportional. However, his other distinct attributes were the feathered butterfly-shaped wings on his back.

Robi’s mother was a Nimbi, while his father was a terrific earthbender, so Robi inherited the best of both worlds. On some days, he loved to sleep on fluffy, drifting clouds, and on others, he just wanted to relax in his grandmother’s garden. Robi’s back and rear had been cramped from sitting in school all day; true, he tried to relax during recess, but impolite students would always disrupt his rest by throwing balls at him or something. Robi didn’t even bother to endure the bus ride home; he would rather give his wings a needed stretching and fly across his neighborhood.

“Snoooooooore…snoooooore…”

Once free from the burdens of school, Robi was where he loved to be: sleeping in his grandmother’s garden like an overgrown butterfly. The weather was mildly chilly, but it only helped to relax his soul. Of course, Robi wasn’t alone in his rest: his friend, Lily had flown in for a visit.

Lily was an inch-tall Kateenian with light-green skin and pink flower petals around her antenna ball. She wore a darker-green dress with pink petal slippers. She and Robi met at a playground when she was 4 years old, and he was three. Although Lily had a peaceful, gentle upbringing, growing up in her mother’s garden, something sparked inside her when she was brought to the playground that day.

_An older boy named Jason had gotten into a brawl with a girl named Christina. Their fists met each other’s jaws in a violent fashion; their bout wasn’t based on spite, but their smirks indicated it was a friendly game. To Lily’s little eyes, it was like watching two young titans engage in a world-shaking battle. She had never seen a fight this intense… but watching it was so thrilling. It made her little heart race. The child wanted to observe every detail of this spectacle, watch every droplet of blood fly out. So, she walked steadily closer. Of course, walking too close would result in the little girl being smashed in their aimless brawl._

_Alas, Christina landed an upper-cut that caused Jason to fly back. Lily’s life would end under the strong, young titan, her squashed remains mixed with the dirt accumulated on his shirt. But then darkness enveloped Lily in the form of big, gentle hands._

_She was shaken up from the impact and could feel the world vibrating. …But after a while, the kind hands opened to reveal a pair of concerned green eyes on a battered face with a bloody nose. “Are you okay?” Robi asked in a meek, but sweet tone._

_“Uh…I am.” Lily turned a shade of blue from blushing._

_“Oh, you’re a girl. Huhu…I thought you were a bug.”_

_“Tee hee hee!” Lily giggled at his utter cluelessness._

From that day, Lily found herself positively infatuated. Robi possessed a big heart that was as warm, sweet, and kind as he appeared. Robi had injured himself from taking Jason’s impact, all to save a tiny girl who he didn’t even know. As she would then learn, Robi adored bugs and thought they made better company than people. They were small and peaceful like he was, and they couldn’t pick on him or push him around like big kids. Even bees acted peaceably around Robi, though if a spider crawled on him, he would gently shoo it off.

Still, he found Lily to be much better company. He wasn’t at all intimidated by the little Kateenian and felt he could talk to her about anything, and he simply adored her cute, sweet voice. Unlike the noisy students at his school, Lily soothed his ears with her voice, and he was always delighted whenever she climbed and played around on him. Lily would love to curl up in his tangly, frizzy hair, or ride in his fluffy wings as he fluttered about the sky like a butterfly.

Lily came to visit him whenever the need arose, whenever she wanted some peace and warmth. As Robi rested in the soft soil of the garden, Lily was tucked cozily under the collar of his sweater. Their hearts and auras were in pure unison. Lily’s element was plants, and since Robi’s was Earth, their chis mixed in a perfect combination, naturally melding with one-another in their undisturbed slumber.

With Robi’s Seismic Sense, he could feel the world around him. He felt the cars driving on the streets, the carefree children running about their yards or the sidewalks, and parents walking with the younger children. And of course, he could feel the plants dancing in the wind. With Lily’s chi mixed with his, they felt everything the other felt. They felt the birds feeding their chicks in the trees, felt the beetles munching on the tomatoes, the caterpillars burrowing through the apples, and the bees collecting pollen. The world and nature were in perfect harmony. There was so much life and soul all around them.

But although Lily loved to be around Robi, and though she appeared sweet and perfectly gentle, her aspirations far differed from his own. “Yaaaaawwwwwn!” She was always the first to awake from an afternoon nap. Now that her muscles had time to relax in warmth, the Kateenian was pumped full of adrenaline. The snores of her big-hearted friend and the puffing of his neck served as a pleasant lullaby, but now she was awake. Lily clambered up onto Robi’s harmless, sleepy face, brushing the petals of her flower crown against the interior of his snorting nostril.

“Huhuhuhu! Huhuhu!” The nerves of his nose sent the tickly sensation throughout his body. The Nimbi awoke, having to rub a finger over his nose to ease his nerves.

“Come on, Robi, we can’t sleep all day! Let’s go meet up with the others!”

Lily had climbed onto Robi’s left lens, jumping on the glass. Her form was very blurry at this proximity, but it nonetheless made Robi’s heart dance from seeing her so pumped and happy. “…Mmmm…” She could see his magnified eyes narrow with hesitation, the boy moaning sheepishly. Robi had been like this for these past few months: his 7th birthday was coming up soon.

“Robi, why don’t you wanna join the Kids Next Door?”

“It’s just… After we join, we won’t be able to do this much, anymore. I know it doesn’t feel like much, but… I just love laying in the garden. I love watching the clouds float by. Aren’t you happy like this, Lily?”

“But laying around all day is boring! I love napping with you, but you’re way more than this, Robi!”

“Why are you so excited to join the KND? You almost got squished back then.”

“That’s why I train, Robi! I practice my plantbending every day, and I move super fast so I don’t get squished! Just like you, Robi! Hehe, I get so excited when I watch you and your dad kick boulders at each other! I wanna watch you smash a ton of bad guys with your earthbending!”

Robi flushed at the very idea of him getting so violent. “I only train ’cause my parents want me. But I… thought you liked me like this, Lily.”

“Aww, of course I do, Robi. But I know you’re more than that.” Lily jumped down to his neck and squeezed it in a hug. “I can feel the enormous power inside you! I felt it ever since then! When you protected me, you were so brave and kind, you didn’t care that you got hurt. You would’ve protected me even if I was just an ordinary bug. If you would protect a bug from getting hurt, why wouldn’t you wanna protect the world?”

“Because… the world is way bigger than bugs. It’s way bigger than you or me.”

“That’s why we have our friends, and not to mention all the other kids!”

Robi sighed, “You just wanna get in a bunch of fights and watch other people fight. But it’s gonna be real dangerous, Lily.”

“Then protect me!” Lily bounced her way up to his nose. “Don’t let me get squished, Robi! And I promise to not let anyone squish you, either! But you have to promise to protect yourself! Don’t let yourself get squished, and I won’t either! When we’re together, no one’s gonna squish us!”

“Hmmm…”

“Hey, Robi!”

“MMMMPPHH!” A gush of sand suddenly fell and smothered the boy’s face. It got into his nose and mouth, the boy coughing and bending it out of him.

“Yo, you sure you’re ready for the KND?!” asked Spiny, a boy with spiky black hair and a purple top with matching shorts. His ankles had bands with small, spiked conch-shells on them. He was seated on the garden’s fence. “All you do is lay around, seriously!”

“Hey!” Robi yelled. “Lily was on me, you coulda hurt her!”

“It’s okay, Robi!” Lily cheered, brushing the sand off as she had dropped to the ground. “I’m all right!”

“Hah, Lily’s way tougher than you are!” Spiny snorted. “Even Kent can’t beat her, what a chump!”

“Only ’cause I’m bein’ nice!” yelled Kent as he pushed up one of the fence boards. Kent wore a yellow Hawaiian shirt with brown shorts, his brown hair in a flame design and his skin red with a tan.

There was also a girl behind the fence, one with a frilly white dress, white strap-on shoes, and blonde hair in pigtails.

“Robi, ain’t you supposed to be the ‘leader’ of the Earth Children?” Spiny remarked, kicking down onto the garden. “Shoot, I oughta be the leader if you’re just gonna be lazy.”

“Come on, Spiny, don’t pick on him.” the girl said, raising a rock platform to see over the fence.

“Why not, Jolene? He’s supposed to be the Firstborn Guardian, he’s gotta prove it.” The spike-haired began to wave his hand, sending soil up into Robi’s face.

“Hey—stop mess—my grand—’s garden!” Robi yelled in-between face-fulls of dirt.

“What’re ya gonna do about it?!”

Throbbing with anger, Robi stomped the ground and sank Spiny into a ditch. He clapped his hands and closed the ditch, crushing the older boy. “Aaaaahh! Hey, too tight, too tight!”

“Hee hee hee!” Lily giggled. “Let me help, Robi!” The Kateenian bent up some roots and wrapped them around Kent’s neck and limbs, raising him to the air.

“HEY, I wasn’t even doing anything! Stop it!”

“Kids, no fighting in the garden!” They turned to the house as Angelie McKenzie stepped out. The earthbending legend was in her fifties, yet still maintained a healthy, youthful demeanor in her old age. “Robi, I thought you knew better than that.”

“B-But, but…”

“Spiny started it!” Jolene yelled, jumping into the garden. “He was making Robi eat dirt! Which I know it’s an expression, but he was literally making him…”

“Kids, you can fight all you want on the playground or wherever else, but in this garden, we enjoy what the earth has to offer us. Everyone at the picnic table.”

The kids sat at a round, white garden table as Angie served them their produce of choice. Kent was fed some Spicy Tomatoes, easy for the lavabender’s tongue to adjust to. Spiny ate some Burst Grapes that would pop into juice inside his mouth, making it as purple as his clothes. Jolene munched both a red and green apple that caused her blonde hair to glimmer in the sun. Robi was munching on a melon, Lily giggling as a seed got wedged between his buckteeth. And Lily herself was in delight, for she had a whole meat patty with cheese and ketchup to herself.

“Why is the plantbender a meat eater?” Kent asked.

“Eating animals is a part of nature~” Lily inferred.

“I don’t wanna be on a team with Spiny…” Robi mumbled.

“Come on, buddy, I was just testing ya!” Spiny playfully shoved him.

“It’s common for friends to keep each other on their toes.” Angie said. “But make sure you don’t push each other around too much, or you won’t get along. You kids are going to be the new Earth Children, the new Sector W. The ‘W’ stands for ‘World,’ you know.”

“I thought it stood for ‘West Virginia.’” Robi said.

“Then why isn’t it ‘WV’?” the grandma inquired.

“Hm hm hm! You’ll be perfect for the KND, Robi!” Lily cheered. “Just like you defended this garden, imagine all the millions of gardens that bad guys are trying to hurt! Don’t you wanna protect them, Robi? Don’t you want all the kids in the world to feel as happy as you feel, napping after school?”

“Mmm…I guess you’re right. But why do you wanna join us, Lily? Don’t you wanna be in GKND?”

“But staying in space all day is boring! I wanna be an Earth Children, too!”

“There’s nothing wrong with that.” Angie smiled. “After all, you can’t have Earth without plants. You kids will be an unbeatable team. Just remember to keep your heads in the game and protect and support each other.”

“But the Earth is more than just rocks and plants.” Jolene said. “We also need a waterbender, and an airbender… maybe not a lightbender because sunlight doesn’t really come from Earth, it’s from the sun, but we CAN create light, like with bulbs and flashlights and-”

“Okay, stop thinking about it.” Kent stated. “We’re already missing a metalbender because Mack would rather be with the water girls.”

“Ha ha ha!” Robi laughed. “Well, at least if we join the KND, we’ll be able to skip school.”

“That’s one incentive, I suppose.” Angie said.

“Haha! Don’t worry, Grandma. I promise to do my best.” Robi grabbed the seed in his teeth and pulled it out. He held the little seed before his spectacled eyes. “I’ll do my best for Lily, Aunt Michelle, and for afternoon naps everywhere!”

**Point of inquiry, if two Firstborn Guardians procreate with each other, they’ll give birth to twins. …’Cause being a Guardian of two Firstborn is hella OP.**


	9. St-Art

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel Goldenweek and his friends look at the stars on Shooting Star Valley.

**This one-shot gets artsy as we introduce a new crossover!**

****

**_

St-Art

_**

****

**Mushroom World**

Shooting Star Valley was blanketed under eternal night. The sky was almost totally painted with stars, and hundreds of those stars fell to the valley every day. The sky was slowly, steadily moving as if it were a tremendous museum display. This was a sacred, favored place to many Mushroomians. When one stares at the sky too long, they are slowly drawn into sleep. The countless stars were like nightlights and their steady scrolling was hypnotic.

“Yaaaawwwwn…” Gabriel Goldenweek had trouble staying awake as he painted the moving sky on his canvas. The young artist had always loved the night sky, as reflected by his black T-shirt glittered with stars. Gabriel almost had the appearance of a doll, his cheeks always flushed on his dark-skinned face, his hair half-black and half-white, and his nose tiny and dot-like. His eyes were always wide and dull and his mouth was usually a frown, as though he were simply made that way. He also wore maroon shorts and red boots.

Goldenweek was his middle name while Winkiebottom was his last name. However, he usually introduced himself as ‘Gabriel Goldenweek,’ since he leaned more toward his mother’s side of the family and their artistic talents. At 10 years old, Gabriel was rather short and skinny, complimenting his doll-like appearance.

“GABEY!” A pair of hands slapped his hip, accompanied by a cheerful shout that almost made his heart jump out. Mikaela Gilligan was a tall girl of dark-brown skin with mocha eyes and black hair. She wore a blue T-shirt with a black skirt and long blue socks with black dress shoes. “Don’t fall asleep, you won’t be able to finish your St-Art!”

“You’re going to mess me up if you scare me like that! And what do you mean by ‘Start’?”

“Star Art! St-Art! Or would ‘star-t’ be a better way to pronounce it? I really wasn’t sure.”

“There’s a place like this in Chalk Zone.” Rudy said as he depicted the setting on his chalkboard. “But you can make anything real there. It’s nowhere as cool as the real thing.”

Rudy Tabootie was a brown-haired boy with beady green eyes, a green shirt that was yellow down the middle (with a green oval in the center), yellow-brown shorts, and white and black shoes. Contrary to his cousin, Rudy always appeared more upbeat and imaginative, a big tooth hanging from his smile and the top-back of his hair bent up and back.

Rudy was rather “special” as an artist as he still favored the medium of chalk. Almost every school had stopped using chalk, due to it being too messy, and the common student would rather draw in a notebook than a chalkboard if they hoped to save their own art. That being said, the chalk Rudy possessed was no ordinary chalk.

“I tell ya, Rudy, this is the worst joint ya could’ve brought us!” snapped a blue and white humanoid boy made of chalk. He ranted on in his Mid-Atlantic accent. “Stars fallin’ over there, stars fallin’ over here, I’d take stars over rain any day, but the least you coulda done is draw me up a decent umbrella.”

Snap appeared to have white skin under a blue mask, neckerchief, and shorts, with round shoes and gloves. Snap was Rudy’s Imaginary Friend, given life thanks to the White Lightning Chalk.

At some point during her adventures, Gabriel’s mother, April discovered a box of the supernatural chalk. Supposedly, it was created by a powerful psychicbender, who further imagined the world of Chalk Zone. Chalk Zone was like a dream world where chalk drawings could continue to exist if they were erased, but as chalk began to become unpopular, Chalk Zone’s creations began to fade and disappear altogether. Even April herself hadn’t much interest in the magical chalk, so she gave it to her cousin, Ib, who would gift it to her son, Rudy.

If not for Rudy, Chalk Zone may have lost its existence entirely. He could bring his Creations to the real world and have them fight, but as expected, chalk creations were fragile and couldn’t endure for long. Still, Rudy would always rely on Snap in a snap.

“Come on, Snap, you need to be more like Aunt Mary.” Rudy said. “The whole reason we go on these trips is to make Chalk Zone more pretty!”

“We don’t gotta go on trips to do that, just look up a few cool areas on the Internet and boom, ya have inspiration.”

“That isn’t the same, Snap.” Mika replied, aiming her camera up at the sky. “And besides that, traveling is healthy for people like us. The more things we see, the more we build our imagination. Haha, guys, take a look at this slow shot! I got it from the stars on the ground.” She showed them a picture of a series of white and yellow streaks.

“Haha! Shooting stars on the ground, huh?” Rudy asked. “Let’s give that a shot~” He recaptured the image on his chalkboard.

“Hmmm…” Forming an idea, Gabriel painted an image of Star Kids zooming around the ground on Star Cars. “Mika, this would be an impressive technique.”

“Let’s try it out right now!” Mika beamed.

Gabriel shared a soft smile of agreement. Both held hands and focused their chi on the open field. Gabriel released mini stars from his Space Chi, and Mika applied her psychic to them to make illusory Star Kids. They made the kids zoom around on their little cars, directing them at Snap as they tripped him off his feet.

“Hey, find someone else to trip with your combos, I’m a sidekick, not a guinea pig!”

“Haha, sorry, sorry!” Mika blushed, releasing Gabriel’s hand. “Still, there’s another trick for our Collab-Art! Way to work your magic, Gabey!” She passed him a cute wink.

“You took a great picture.” Gabriel smiled up at the photographer.

At 12 years old, Mikaela was rather tall and spunky. Her mother had gotten her into photography at a young age, and Mika felt a kinship with the art. It became a strong source of imagination by using different filters and shutter speeds on different subjects and settings.

From what Gabriel understood, Mika’s mother, Sunni wanted her to train herself in psychicbending and find inspiration on her own, with photography meant to serve as an impetus. Sunni was proud of her daughter’s skill with the art; growing up, she hadn’t really had many hobbies herself besides wanting to get stronger, so Sunni was glad that Mika had such a thing to keep her going. Gabriel could imagine Mika easily scoring a job when she got older, either for a magazine, newspaper, or otherwise, and looking super cute and perky while doing it. Even though she liked to tease him, often picking him up and calling him a dolly, Gabriel loved her as a teammate.

Of course, there was another reason Sunni got her into photography, and was another reason for their little quests.

As Sector RT, the kids were known for their art, both in battle and out of battle. Whenever an idea crossed any of their minds (or in Mika’s camera), they would try to depict it, drawing inspiration from one-another as they planned their next move.

The four took a break from their art to relax their selves on the picnic blanket, their shoes put aside. The taste of crackers and cookies livened their tastebuds with diverse, colorful flavors, much like drawings on a canvas. “Hey guys, have you ever heard of Joey Drew Studios?” Mika asked.

“Not really. What’s that?” Rudy asked.

“It’s like a really old animation studio who came out around the time of Walt Disney, like over a hundred years ago. I think they were inspired from him or something, but they kinda got shut down for being too similar to Disney’s creations. That, and I think some legal issues or something.”

“Well, it’s no wonder we never heard-a them.” Snap said. “Who remembers things from that long ago?”

“Aunt Mary?” Rudy answered.

“She don’t know an orange crayon from cheddar cheese!”

“Well, like, the studio where they used to work kinda got abandoned, but lately, there’ve been some weird rumors about it.” Mika continued. “Like, some people go and explore the studio just for kicks, and a couple of them say they actually saw Bendy, the studio’s mascot. I found the story online and I kinda just started researching the place.”

“They’re probably just trying to make a ghost story or something.” Gabriel figured.

“How can you just say that?! We got a freakin’ chalking walk boy with us! I mean, freaking walking chalk! We know Imaginary Friends can come to life!”

“Yeah, but wouldn’t the guys who made that place be dead by now?” Rudy asked.

“That’s why we should go see it! It’s totally our speed!” Mika balled her fists and grit her teeth in anticipation and excitement. “I just dig haunted houses!”

“What speed are we talkin’ about again?” Snap asked.

“I guess it would be a fun field trip.” Gabriel said.

“I knew you’d agree, Gabey!” Mika lifted and squeezed her little friend in a hug.

“Maybe they’re like the Chalk Zone.” Rudy inferred. “Maybe they’re Creations who were just forgotten, but someone started remembering them again and now they’re alive. You might make some friends, Snap.”

“Meh meh meh, so long as they don’t have falling stars, they’re fine by me. Ow!” A star hit his head.

“Heh heh heh!” Mika laughed. “Hmm… I think I got just about the whole sky by now.” She studied the camera. “I bet you Jirachi will appear in a constellation or something once I process these in the darkroom.”

“I still think ya got ripped off with this whole shebang.” Snap said. “I mean, havin’ a camera that does digital and printed photos is cool and all, but no one does this processing junk anymore. Ya shouldn’t have ta go through that much trouble for silly hidden imagery.”

“Hidden imagery or not, the magic of photography can’t be captured by digital photos alone.”

“And plus, you’re not the one who should be saying that, Snap~” Rudy remarked.

“Hey, chalk is magical and it works in an instant, but you shouldn’t have to wait in a dark, smelly room all day just to get a good picture.”

“You may not have a nose, Snap, but you’re not an artist if you can’t adapt to the smell of your own craft~” Mika inferred. “Hey, speaking of stars, I bet Star’s been here before. Too bad we didn’t bring him!”

“I heard that he’s meeting his Negative today.” Gabriel replied.

“Oh, that’s interesting! Who’s his Negative?”

**Star Haven**

Star Winkiebottom was repulsed by the boy in front of him: his Negative wore white clothes with a blue bowtie, patterned socks with sandals, and had crossed eyes over his beady nose and buckteeth. On his way in the house, his opposite had tripped and knocked over a lamp, breaking it.

So, with a disgruntled scowl, Star hissed, “OH, RATS!”


	10. The Top Sector’s Coach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sector V exercises in the gym, with Laruta Grayson as their instructor.

**It’s time we get a good overview on the Third Gen’s Top Sector!**

****

**_

The Top Sector’s Coach

_**

****

**Sector V Treehouse**

Sector V was known by all kids as the Top Sector of the Kids Next Door. This was true in Nigel Uno’s era, in the Nextgen Era, and now the children of the previous generation were working to uphold the legacy. Though they had been on no world-saving missions, yet, they were already remarkable as a team and had accomplished great feats. They were the most popular kids at Gallagher Elementary; the school itself was famous for having them as students.

Almost each member was famous or unique in their own way. Their leader, Jason Dimalanta, was the son of a legendary pirate. Christina Uno was simply famous for being an Uno, yet despite her family being natural-born leaders, she only assumed the role of vice-leader. Ralph Gilligan was the son of a prince from another planet; he looked the part of a prince, was filthy rich, yet was open and friendly with his peers. But perhaps richer than him was Silica York, one of the top gamers in the universe and the daughter of Carol Masterson, the developer of the KND game series.

Jason was also distinct for his non-human traits, his raccoon ears and tail. Besides him, another distinct member was Isabelle Rivera, who looked and dressed like a Native American of the old days, but possessed the angel wings of a Nimbi. Trella Dunfree was especially odd, a green-skinned alien with magenta hair, two antennae, an orange dress, and fluffy magenta socks. She was mute and always kept her eyes closed, possessing a peaceful, gentle air about her.

But the member who popped out the most was Mali Anderson: she was a literal giant and could barely fit in her kindergarten class. At 6 years old, she was their newest and youngest member, but she was a remarkably heavy hitter with her poisonbending. Despite being bigger than her teammates, Mali was rather shy and meek at times, especially when Christina shouted at her.

Their remarkable backgrounds implied great esteem, and their weird, quirky appearances and diverse personalities showed an open, friendly air between them. Topped with their individual talents, these nine operatives were the role models of the KND, the ones that all operatives could rely on.

Once school was over (and assuming no missions had intervened), some students would watch as Sector V returned home to their treehouse, the base where legends were made. Some could only imagine what sort of training or discussions go on in there. During recess, Jason and Christina would sometimes get in fights that would shake the grounds and even dent cracks, or maybe Jason would race Isabelle around the building, both naturally swift on their feet.

However, after school, the team’s most mature member would take charge during this time: Laruta Grayson. She was short and slightly pudgy, wearing a gray sweatshirt, pants, and shoes. She had big square glasses and sandy-blonde hair in a messy ponytail. Though she was short and cute-looking, she was always pumped for a workout. Every day, she would instruct her teammates to meet in her room, a fitness center with mats, punching bags, and wide mirrors.

Laruta was the type to change her clothes after every mission or school day, believing that clean attire helped her stay vigilante. She didn’t make her teammates do the same, but she encouraged them to have their shoes off in the gym, thinking it was best to air their feet out after a long day.

“Alright, gang, is everyone present?” Laruta announced to her team like a teacher in class. “Let’s do a roll call!”

“Captain Jason is here for training!” The leader grinned and saluted.

“Isabelle Rivera, here as always!” the half-Shandian reported.

“Ralph Gilligan, present!” the prince announced.

“Shimmy-chan here!” the pilot sported a big grin. Shimmy had black hair in pigtails, a white jacket, and a pink dress with red polka-dots.

Trella smiled and gave a bow.

“Mali here. Hi.” The giant waved.

“Alright, we’re still missing two more.” Laruta clapped.

“Ugh.” Christina moaned. “We’re right here, this is stupid.”

Silica was turned away, her fingers tapping her handheld game. Narrowing her spectacled eyes, Laruta marched around and snatched her game. “YOOOUUUU!” Silica’s shadow, Inky wrapped around and hissed at Laruta viciously. “Give that back NOW!”

“You’ll have time for games later. Now, it’s time for exercise. You can’t let your body grow stiff, so let’s get started. Hoh!” Laruta stomped and thrusted a fist.

Compared to the harshness of missions or the boredom of school, or even the action that takes place on a playground, Sector V’s gym was a relaxing environment with good air condition. Their workouts were much more calm and simple compared to what they usually do. Trella was bending her legs at various angles and poses. These exercises were common for her, so she adapted the best in gym. Ralph was thrusting his fists at a punching bag, and Shimmy was punching another bag in a more rapid fashion.

“I’mma punch more than you, Ralph-kun!” Shimmy shouted.

“Shimmy, this isn’t a contest!” Laruta stated scoldingly. “Pace yourself appropriately. We’re trying to balance ourselves, not exhaust ourselves.”

“Meh, that’s no fun.” Shimmy groaned, punching more slowly.

“Look, Laruta!” Mali yelled. “I can do three flips!” The child bent back, planted her hands on the floor, flipped her legs up, planted them back down, and repeated the process twice more.

“Very good, Mali!”

Jason was doing sit-ups while Isabelle was holding his feet down. “Make sure to breathe, Captain. You have to take proper breaths.”

“Hehe, aye-aye!” Jason grinned at his friend. “Make sure you do the same!”

“Hehe, sí! It’s my turn, anyhow~” Isabelle lied down next, and Jason held her feet as the Nimbi sat up and down.

Laruta smiled at their teamwork. …She frowned and looked over to Christina and Silica, who were lazily stretching a single leg. Laruta approached them and said, “You two aren’t pulling your weight. Or in this case, losing it. Put your whole bodies into it! Hoh!”

“Hey, I dunno about Sill, but I don’t frickin’ need this.” Christina stated. “I’m one of the strongest kids. I can beat up a whale! I get way more fill of exercise every mission than I do from these silly workouts.”

“Those kinds of missions only cause stress to your physical and mental wellbeing. This exercise is supposed to be relaxing. It’s like a gentle massage for our muscles, and we got a safe, clean environment and good friends to do it with.” She thrusted her fists and swung her legs. “Hoh!”

“Yeah, well if your routine was any good, you wouldn’t be so puny, Shorty.” Christina pressed a finger to Laruta’s nose and pushed her onto her rear. “Y’know what, I got better things to do.” She went to grab her sandals before marching out of the room.

Laruta could only glare after her. Compared to herself, Christina was much thinner and taller, and her great strength complimented her fit figure. It was no wonder she didn’t think she needed the exercise, and Laruta could barely find it in her to argue. “…Come on, Silica, let’s be workout buddies.”

“I want my game back.”

“Exercise is good for your brain! You wanna have your brain pumped to beat all those levels, right?” Laruta stretched back up and began to march in place. “Come on, march with me!” She sported a vigorous smirk. “Stomp those feet, pump your legs, pump it up, pump it, pump it, hoh!”

“God, your perky attitude is annoying. You’re not even the leader and you always act like you’re in charge of everything. Frankly, Christina is right, the whole reason you do this is just to feel self-pride because you’re a complete pushover in a real fight.”

“I am not! I may not be a superhuman, but I’ve got a lot of stamina. You’re pretty strong yourself, Sill, but if you just do what I do, you would be amazing.”

“I’ll show you amazing.” Silica sent Inky and gnashed against Laruta, the instructor screaming as the shadow tore up her clothes. Inky returned and spat Silica’s game back into her hands. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a record to beat.” And she marched away on that note.

The others looked upon Lar with sympathy and approached her. Trella kindly helped her to stand. “Thank you, Trella. I’m alright.”

“They didn’t hurt your feelings, did they?” Mali asked.

“Want me to give ’em a good sock in the nose?” Jason fist-palmed.

“That’s okay, Jason. I feel like trying to make them will just make them more angry. The whole reason we do this is to clear our heads and refresh our minds. It’s supposed to make us happier. I just wish they knew that.”

“Eh, if they don’t wanna be happy, that’s their problem.” Shimmy stated.

“But we’re supposed to be the Top Sector. We have to be physically and mentally ready at all times. Those two are just… making us look bad.”

“Oi don’t really care about looking good.” Jason shrugged. “If those blokes are happy with their selves, fine, but this is supposed to be a team exercise! It don’t mean anything if the whole crew ain’t here!”

“I know, Jason, but I don’t want to stress over it for now.” Laruta faced her teammates with a smile. “But I’ve sure got some stress to burn off now. I need someone to punch, who’s up for it?!”

“Ralph-chan needs it!” Shimmy pushed him forward.

“W-wait, me?!”

“Dukes up, Ralphy! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!” Laruta began thrusting her fists against the prince, Ralph raising his palms in defense. Laruta simply punched around the palms and hit his stomach, Ralph grunting each time. “Everyone else, thrust those fists!” With ecstatic grins, the others lined up and punched back and forth in synchronized fashion.

Christina and Silica had gone to the living room. The Uno was lain on the couch with Silica at the other end, hooked on her game. “Gah, dammit.” She mumbled after making a slip-up. “Ugh…now I can’t even focus.” Silica put her game down and lied on the floor. “Huu…rrr…” She struggled to sit herself up, her pudgy body stuck in an obtuse angle. “Hey, Chris… can you hold my legs down?”

“Seriously? Fine…” Christina got to her knees and held Sill’s legs. The gamer moaned in stress, feeling her back straining in her mission to sit up.

“Man, your socks stink.” Chris cringed. “Is that the same pair from yesterday?”

“The past week, actually.”

“Gross!” Chris got up and stomped away, Sill plopping on her back. “Go and change first, I need to take a bath.”

“…Inky, pull me up…” Silica requested from her position on the floor.

**Also, there’s no Sector W7 in the Third Gen. Their children merged with Sector V, except Gabriel, who started his own sector.**


	11. A Charmy Meal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sector MG rushes to stop their friend from destroying a restaurant!

**Sorry to say, but I decided to retcon one of the Third Gen Kids and swap him out for a crossover who appears in this chapter. ^^; I wanted to add these crossovers at some point, and this seemed like the better solution by sacrificing an OC or two. Give myself less to burden with.**

****

**_

A Charmy Meal

_**

****

**Fourside**

“Hey guys, don’t run so fast!” Lucas yelled, struggling to keep up with his friends.

“It’s your fault for mentioning the meat!” Veronica shouted back at him.

“I sure hope Karma made it in time!” Aria yelled, dashing ahead with the speed of wind. “Hold on, we’re coming to back you up!”

“It’s really gonna eat up our wallets if she eats too much!” Ness followed.

Let’s start from the beginning: this lively group is Sector MG. Aria Conbolt was the leader, 12 years old and tall, a wind mage with short purple hair, an orange scarf, a green sleeveless shirt under a dark-red vest, and khaki pants with purple shoes. Aria possessed a brave heart and was always ready for any challenge, and her Rainbow Wind was nothing to scoff at in battle.

Behind her was Don Quixote Veronica. She had violet eyes and long blonde hair worn in two braids. She wore a red hood, a red dress over a white smock, blue bracelets, and leather shoes with orange socks. She was quite short at 10 years old, but carried a scepter topped with a red orb that was twice her own height. She possessed a rather brash accent, a very strict girl who wouldn’t hesitate to berate her team. She was certainly a spitting image of her mother, minus the mustache.

Following her was Ninten Ness Blakely, usually known as just Ness. He wore a red cap over his trim black hair, a T-shirt of yellow and blue stripes, blue shorts, and red shoes. His magic backpack was filled with a baseball bat, yo-yo, and wand, but he otherwise looked the part of an average, eager elementary school boy.

Falling behind was Lucas Orson, a blonde boy with a yellow- and red-striped shirt, blue shorts, and red shoes. He was the same height as Ness and the two could be mistaken for brothers, but they weren’t related at all. He had magic potential just the same, but compared to Ness, he was a meeker, shy child. Both were 11 years old and a few inches taller than Veronica.

Fourside was a small, peaceful city with tall buildings, but the gang was in a desperate hurry as they raced the valley and toward the town. It seemed like some cars and signs were torn down in the midst of their friend’s rampage. The entrance to the Meat King restaurant was smashed clean open.

When they stepped in, fear coursed through their hearts: there were masses of cotton, large and small, around the restaurant. The other customers had already fled. “These are her Sheep Cotton.” Aria said. “I think we’re too late.”

“Oh, man.” Lucas whimpered, stepping forward. “How much could she have eaten already?” He stepped on a small cotton.

“Yow! Lucas, watch where you’re stepping!”

“Yah!” He faced down. “I’m sorry, Mr. Cotton!”

“I’m not Cotton, I’m Karma!” After moving his foot, Lucas saw Karma Shiota’s tiny head sticking out of the cotton. “Charmy freakin’ trapped me in here when I tried to stop her.”

“Ugh, how useless can you be?!” Veronica stomped over the shrunken boy. “Do those legs of yours even work?”

“Excuse me for going easy on my own friend! Besides, last time something like this happened, she frickin’ bit my nipple! That’s why I started wearing a shirt!”

“Nuh-uh.” Ness said. “You started wearing one because everyone kept looking at you funny. You were practically naked.”

“Shut up and get me outta here!”

“Not yet! We have to stop her!” Aria said, rushing to the kitchen.

The wind mage kicked open the door and saw a short girl digging into a hunk of cooked meat shaped like a three-layer cake. She had black hair tied in an upside-down bun and green eyes under a big forehead. She wore a white tunic with dark shorts and yellow flats on her tiny feet. “Charmy, how much have you eaten?!” Aria asked.

Charmy’s eyes watered with euphoria as the royal sirloin coursed through her mouth, the flush on her cheeks brimming more red. She had stuffed her little mouth with a wide, luscious piece, but it traveled down her tiny throat smoothly. Afterwards, she fell back in her seat, hanging upside-down and facing her teammates with a bubbly smile. “I love cake and I love meat. So, when someone makes a cake out of meat, my nose, belly, and taste buds go into a frenzy.”

“You didn’t hurt too many people, did you?” Ness asked.

“Don’t worry, they’re all safe and snug in my fluffy cotton~”

“’ey, are you kids her friends?!” They looked down as a cotton ball bounced toward them, a cook’s head poking out. “This kid owes us $500 and one cent! All the customers ran away in the middle of their meals! They didn’t have a chance to pay!”

“Well, someone’s a money grubber.” Veronica remarked.

“But you have a lot of money, Veronica.” Lucas inferred.

“So do you!” She bonked his head. “Why don’t YOU pay them?!”

“Awww…”

…

With Charmy strapped to Aria’s back, her tummy hefty and happy, the team went for a relaxing walk through town. “It got pretty tense, but I’d say that was a good mission accomplished!” Aria beamed.

“Karma, maybe next time you’ll call me before going to hog tasty food for yourself.” Charmy cooed, hugging the cotton which bound her friend.

“You’re the one who hogs all the food!” The magenta-haired boy shook frantically. “Can one of you get me out of here?!”

“Shake out of there yourself, Mr. Strong Legs!” Veronica snapped.

Charmy Pappitson was an inch shorter than Veronica, but her little belly could hold a lot of food. Her mother was a Linlin descendant, so she developed strong cravings and would go on rampages until she got her fill. On the plus side, she wouldn’t grow sick from eating so much. Meanwhile, her father was a dwarf, and this resulted in her rather short stature.

“Seriously, you’re 19 years old.” Karma said. “Learn to control your appetite.”

“I wouldn’t be such a well-grown witch if I didn’t value every meal that entered my tummy.”

“Please, Veronica looks like she had a growth spurt compared to you.”

“Charmy, just leave him in there for the rest of the day.” Veronica requested.

“Up yours, Red Riding Hood.”

Karma, meanwhile, was the only non-mage of the group, but he made up for it with his powerful legs, inherited from his Fanalis mother. He simply wore a white T-shirt with shorts, preferring little and light clothing, but he wasn’t quite as tribal as his mother. He mostly gave off the air of a school delinquent, the kind that would prop his feet on the desk and chill in class like it were his home away from home. He was 13 years old.

“Kids! Kids, waaaiiit!” They turned to find the fry cook rushing toward them.

“He’s back?” Ness asked. “Lucas, did you remember to give him that one cent?”

“I did! It was the only penny I had…” Lucas bowed his head in sadness.

“Did we forget something?” Aria asked the cook.

“No! The restaurant is under attack! The Happyists are painting everything blue!”

“Not the Happyists!” Aria exclaimed, her eyes furrowing. “Come on, team, we gotta make a U-turn!” She was quick to dash the opposite way, leaving a gust of wind as Ness, Lucas, and Veronica scrambled to run after.

The Meat King had a reddish-brown color scheme, but just as quickly as Sector MG had left, it was being painted in blue thanks to the cultists in blue robes and masks. “HEY! What do you overgrown teardrops think you’re doing?!” Aria yelled.

“Well, if it isn’t the Kids Next Door!” The leader of the cultists marched up: he had a blue yarmulke on his bald scalp, blue hair around the edges with a matching goatee, along with a blue suit. “I should’ve known you miscolored miscreants would be onto my scheme! I see you’ve already evacuated the restaurant!”

Charmy broke free of Aria’s back and faced him with determination. “It was all part of my brilliant plan! Laaaaa!”

“Wow, Charmy, you had me completely fooled!” Aria praised.

“Hang on, that can’t be right!” Ness yelled. “Why didn’t we wait at the restaurant for them?”

“There’s no time for questions!” Charmy stated. “Carpainter, face the might of my Karma Ball!” She threw the cotton toward the cultist, and it burst as Karma blew to normal size. The half-Fanalis slammed his strong, bare leg into Carpainter, blasting him through the wall.

“You guys like blue?!” Aria asked. “Then try my GLACIUS WIND!” She took a breath and blew a gust of freezing air. The Happyists in the front felt a chill, but those behind survived. They came out and shot blue paint globs at the airbender. Ness ran around and lashed his yo-yo to wrap one’s neck, hoisting and swinging him into others.

Lucas grabbed a light-red snake from his pocket. “Rope Snake, get ’em!” But the snake began jabbing at Lucas’s face. “Ahh! Rope Snake, stop! I promise I’ll feed you! Hey, I heard those guys like to keep rats!” Rope Snake perked up and lashed toward the cultists, nipping them through the robes. Veronica mustered a fireball with her scepter and launched it at a group of Happyists. It burst into a flaming spire.

“Aria, help me with a Tornado Spin!” Karma requested.

“I got ya covered!” Aria focused her bending around her friend as Karma whirled around with a leg stretched. He twirled and struck the cultists with a gust of wind to give his kicks some extra gusto.

“PK Fire!” Ness cast a flame bullet from his wand that burst upon hitting a cultist.

“PK Thunder!” Lucas cast an electric orb from his wand, directing it to fly around and shock multiple cultists.

“Hey, where did Charmy go?!” Veronica asked, casting a spell to make flowers grow from three’s robes.

“WAAAAAAAH!” They heard a cry from the kitchen. “What have you done to the MEAT?!” She cried before the sight of several hunks of blue meat.

“Blue meat is happy meat!” Carpainter claimed. “Why don’t you try it? It’s painted with edible paint~”

“ **You…** you do not treat food that way.” A dark aura brimmed around Charmy, turning toward the mastermind with eerie white eyes. “I’ll show you how vicious my sheep can BE!” A gigantic mass of cotton emerged from her chi, shaping like a giant sheep with looming white eyes. “LALALALALALALALALALA…” The sheep thrusted its hooves at Carpainter like a boxer. “SHEEP, crush them all, laaaaaa!”

“No, Charmy!” Lucas cried. “We already defeated them all, we—aaaaahhhh!”

The sheep plowed down all the cultists, crushed all the tables, and burst through the entrance of the restaurant. The workers stood outside with mouths agape: the Happy Happyists and Sector MG were wedged in the cotton that had flooded their restaurant.

“AAAAH! You crazy kids!” the manager yelled. “Do you know how much it’ll cost to fix everything?!”

“You better ask your dad for more pennies, Lucas.” Ness suggested.

“Oh, man…”

“Phew! This battle sure made me hungry!” Charmy beamed, sitting next to Carpainter’s dizzy head. “Let’s see what the bakery’s cooking today! I hope they still have those delicious White Valley Pancakes. Laaaaa~”

**Veronica is from _Dragon Quest XI_ , Charmy is from _Black Clover_ , and Ness and Lucas (plus Fourside) come from the _Mother_ series! If you can guess who Veronica’s mother is, the two characters are just so similar in appearance and have the same accent and personality, so I just had to connect them somehow. I also find Lucas to be similar to his father, Oliver (from _Ni no Kuni_ ). I also just learned that Charmy shares an English voice actress with Detective Suika from _Dr. Stone_. Two legends, two Best Girls, one voice. X3**


	12. Ichigo’s Average Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo Diego hangs with his friends at the skate park.

**Sector JP was always praised for their strong and realistic team dynamics. But Gameverse likes to get quirky with its realism~**

****

**_

Ichigo’s Average Life

_**

****

Ichigo Diego identified as a good boy. His parents raised him to be a respectable young man who was nice and helpful, and at 11 years old, he was good at upholding that role so far. He had just finished school for the day, visited the store to get groceries, and now he was in his room doing homework.

Ichigo’s father was Spanish and his mom was Japanese, so he was a mix of both ethnicities. His black hair was trimly cut and nicely combed and his dark eyes were narrowed in focus. He had on a pair of comfy blue jeans and white socks. As one could tell by his red soccer jersey, he loved to play the sport. He was both strong and smart. He was a good team player, responsible, and made good grades. He was a well-rounded good boy, but at heart, he was still an average boy.

“ICHIGO! Did you leave the milk out?!”

A shrill, womanly voice ripped the air. Ichigo flinched, broken from his focus. He knew it as his mother’s. Judging by her anger, it seems his good boy status was compromised. His heart beating anxiously, Ichigo pushed himself up and walked out to the kitchen.

His kitchen was as ordinary as any other… except, on one side, there was another, miniature kitchen. “Why was the normal milk sitting up here?!” Ichigo directed his gaze to the counter beside the fridge: there was a little black-haired woman in a white T-shirt and shorts, holding up a jug of milk.

Ichigo bit his lip. “I…I thought I put it away…”

“Well, now it’s freaking spoiled. That’s like 200 yen down the drain.” Karin walked toward the giant sink and poured the milk in.

“I can pour you some milk from the big fridge.”

“I ain’t drinking from your giant glasses, that’s way too much a pain! And by the way, I was in the laundry room, you used the wrong soap! My shirts look like the freakin’ American flag now!”

“I-I’m sorry, Mom. I was just in a hurry to get this homework done. I’m actually gonna meet my friends at the skate park in 10 minutes. But, I’ll go get more milk.”

“You know what, forget it. I’ll go get milk myself, just go do whatever you gotta do.” Karin climbed down the counter and marched across the vast kitchen floor.

Ichigo sighed and returned to his room to finish his homework. His mother yelled at him from time to time, and he never liked it when it happened… but he understood why she was so mad all the time. While Ichigo was a normal boy at heart, he and his father were giants. He attended school, went shopping, and hung out with friends no different from fellow humans, but he was about 19 feet tall. In this era, however, people had become accustomed to aliens and strange people, and there were other giants in the world that lived with humans. Those towns usually made accommodations to fit people like Ichigo, and his town of Karakura was among them.

His family was built a giant house with a giant refrigerator, laundry machine, and other such things. Even his school printed giant paper for his homework. They lived out in the countryside where their everyday lifestyle wouldn’t get in the way of normal humans too much.

Of course, Ichigo’s mother would always recount the story of her awful pregnancy. It couldn’t be helped that she fell in love with his father, a fellow soccer star with a strong set of legs. But she almost regretted it during the pregnancy. “My body was like a slow-swelling balloon that just wouldn’t f***ing pop, and it kept hurting worse and worse! If I was any other woman, I woulda f***ing split in half and died! And forget about cleaning his messes, that’s Sind’s job, especially since I’m in a f***ing wheelchair.”

She wasn’t wheelchair-bound anymore, but Karin would occasionally slump and limp from time to time. Regardless, Ichigo knew it was his responsibility to be a good son and a good boy. His mom nearly gave her life to give birth to him, so he owed it to her. That’s why he hated it when she was upset with him.

After finding a stopping point in his homework, Ichigo began to leave. He slipped on a pair of white sneakers by the door and stepped outside. Karin had already taken the car and left. “BOO!”

“AAH!” Ichigo jumped back when a person poofed out of nowhere. It was Joto Hanakari, a girl with red hair in pigtails, going perfectly with her Tiny Devil suit. She floated level with Ichigo’s head using its bat wings. Her face was somewhat crinkled from always scowling and smirking. “Joto, what are you doing?!”

“I was just coming to get you, but I kinda walked in on your mom yelling at you. Heh, you forgot the milk?”

“Joto!” A blush grew on his tan-skinned cheeks.

“Relax, I forget the milk sometimes, too!” Joto flew up and poked his big, but scrawny nose. “I guess having a big head isn’t good for holding more memory~”

Ichigo grit his teeth and tried to grab her, but Joto shrank and breezed out of his grasp. He could barely see his friend while she was the size of a fly, making her a nuisance to track. Joto resized by his ear and yelled, “ON YOUR LEFT-!”

He reacted quickly to clap her between his hands. “Joto, you shouldn’t eavesdrop on other peoples’ business.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry! Your hand smells like pencil!”

“And I’ll bet you haven’t done your homework, yet.”

“Yeah, well don’t butt in on my business. We going to the park or not?”

“Fine, but take the suit off.”

“Geez.” Joto was set down, and she used a mechanical pocket mirror to scan herself. Her Tiny Devil swapped for a white T-shirt, blue shorts, and white running shoes. “But you mind carrying me? I’m kinda beat from my walk here.”

“You didn’t even have to come…” Ichigo sighed and bent down with a hand open. Joto climbed on, sitting herself down as the giant carried her across the countryside.

Because of how he was raised, Ichigo was mature and somewhat strict for his age. He made sure his classmates were keeping out of trouble, and as Sector JP’s leader, he made sure his teammates were always ready, well-trained, well-fed, well-rested, well-prepared. Joto tended to be the wildcard, often not listening to Ichigo’s orders and acting nonchalantly, and he found himself attempting to discipline her occasionally. However, Ichigo’s teammates were probably the only kids in school who respected and trusted him, and Joto was one of them.

Other classmates would call him a fathead or a tyrant, claiming that he thought himself the boss of everyone because he was giant, and Joto would sometimes make quips like that, but he knew she meant it in good spirits and not spiteful. Joto was a strong-willed girl in her own right and she saw a good rival in Ichigo, but she also admired and respected his strength. That was the very reason she was relaxing so casually in her friend’s hand. Well, perhaps she was simply taking advantage of having a giant as a friend, and since he felt compelled to be a good boy, he couldn’t bring himself to say ‘no’ if someone wanted a lift.

When they made it to town, Ichigo stayed clear of the normal humans. He remarkably stood out from the crowd, but most people were used to seeing him out and about with a couple of friends. In fact, some found it rather cute with how he was kindly giving the spunky red-haired girl a free ride.

Still, even Ichigo felt small in the vastness of the skate park. There was a great number of ramps, rails, craters, and a complex tunnel system that led underground. “Ichi-kun, Joto-chan, we were waiting for ya!” A boy wearing a fireworks robe, kabuki makeup, and sandals rushed up, his black hair a mess. Kodachi Ramsey was sporting an ecstatic grin with eyes burning with conviction. “Sector H just showed up! We can’t let these Americans outskate us on our own turf!”

“Aren’t you half-American?” Ichigo asked.

“That’s more American than you!” Joto retorted. “Let’s get going, buddy!” She kicked off her friend’s hand and ran alongside Koda. Ichigo jogged after them.

They made their way up the stairs of a giant bowl, where a group of kids were looking into it. One of them was Otto Rocket, a boy with orange dreads and shades, wearing a yellow T-shirt with red shorts. His purple-haired sister was Reggie Rocket, wearing a magenta T-shirt with a rocket design and green camouflage pants. There was a Latino boy named Twister Rodriguez, wearing a backwards cap, a blue shirt, and green khaki shorts, using a camera to record the skaters in the bowl.

“Oh, heads up, Otto.” Reggie cautioned. “It’s the only kid with a bigger head than you.”

“Try looking in a mirror, Princess Waikikamukau. So, what took you guys so long?” Otto asked.

“Ichigo was doing CHORES~” Joto snorted.

“Just because we’re KND, we shouldn’t act like schoolwork doesn’t matter to us.” Ichigo argued. “Besides, I’m here right on schedule. You’re the ones who are early.”

“Yeah, well you’ve been missing your cousin in action, Mr. Honor Student.” Twister remarked. “And Squid ain’t doing half-bad either.”

There were two kids skating around the bowl. One was Mazu Daimon, a boy with smooth, pasta-colored blonde hair, a white button-up shirt with ‘ _Chef_ ’ written in gold and diagonally, black shorts that sparkled like a clean frying pan, and white shoes with gold soles and laces. Another was Sam, a blonde boy with glasses, an oversized yellow T-shirt with an “N”, and saggy gray pants. Mazu was emitting firebending from his heels to speed on his skateboard while “Squid” was more decked in protective gear, using magnetic shoes to stay attached to his board.

“Now, let’s add the condiments!” Mazu leapt in the air and thrusted fists down, shooting bursts of fire. “Salt! Pepper! Sugar! Spice! And this one is, ‘Chop the Celery’!” He began cartwheeling his board along the bowl like a knife chopping celery. “Now, turn up the heat!” Mazu swirled into the center of the bowl, spun around, and willed the ground beneath his board to burst! Mazu launched above the ramp, like a temperature dial faced straight up. He flew at an arch, a clockwise angle from the others’ view, landed in the side of the bowl, and slid straight down, passing the bottom, and going up the other end, just like turning the dial up.

“Come on, Squid, when’s your soup gonna be ready?!” Otto shouted.

“Can’t I just make pudding?!” Squid yelled back, attempting to leap from one side of the bowl to the next. “Whoooaa—oh, ow, ah!” He tumbled over as he and his magnetic board slid to the bottom.

Mazu skated down and sported a sportsmanly smile. “Want me to help you out?” he asked, extending a hand.

“Yes, please.” Squid took his hand.

Mazu rocketed them up to the platform, reuniting with the others. “Hey, Cous! All done with homework?”

“I hope you weren’t show boding too much, Mazu.” Ichigo said.

“Relax, I was being a good sport.”

“Squid just needs to step up his game.” Otto inferred.

“Hey, he was using firebending! Shouldn’t that be cheating?”

“At least it seemed like Sam was prepared.” Ichigo said. “Why aren’t you wearing your gear, Mazu? Heck, why aren’t the rest of you?”

“Koda said we didn’t need it.” Mazu replied.

“Well, we don’t!” Koda stated. “I mean, we never dress up on missions, anyway! We move faster and perform better in our casual gear.”

“Yeah, and if they don’t need it, neither do we.” Twister said. “I don’t see you wearing YOUR gear, big guy.”

“Joto: hit me.” Ichigo ordered.

“Sure thing, boss.” Joto aimed the Compowder at Ichigo, scanning the giant as a helmet, kneepads, and elbow pads appeared to cover him. A giant skateboard appeared on his back as well.

“I like extreme sports as much as the next kid, but I don’t wanna hurt myself doing them. You guys need to dress up, too, or no one’s playing.”

“Hey, don’t get mad at me.” Joto said, swapping into her gear. “I always wear the Tiny Devil, anyway. Mazu, Koda, you’re next.”

“I guess it is safe.” Mazu figured, being scanned into the pads.

“Alright, I guess.” Koda sighed, being dressed up as well, including rocket-powered roller blades.

“Yeah, well you worry about _your_ team.” Otto remarked. “I’m still going up the Grim Ramp and I ain’t scared. You coming or what, Koda?”

“Darn right I am!” Both eagerly raced down the stairs.

The Grim Ramp was a towering, skyscraper ramp that was extremely steep, black, and had torches adorning the end with a skull symbol below it. “Some say that people climb up that ramp, they come down, but they never reach the bottom.” Twister said.

“W-W-Where do they go?” Squid shuddered.

“Into space, of course.” Koda said casually. “You build up so much momentum going down that when you go up at the end, you launch all the way to the stars.”

“Hmm…on second thought, Otto, maybe you should dress up.” Reggie suggested. “This feels pretty dangerous.”

“Hey, helmets are for shoobies! I’ll meet you at the top, Koda!” Otto quickly began climbing the ladder up the colossal ramp.

“Darn it, I can’t lose the preliminary race!” Koda hurried to the other side and climbed up.

“Otto, you should listen to your sister!” Ichigo yelled.

“Yeah, well I thought Joto was your team girl!” Otto yelled back.

“What?” Joto asked simply. “You thought I was our team ‘girl’? Is this, like, the 90s or something?”

“Otto is kind of outdated.” Reggie replied. “He’s basically implying that the ‘girl’ always has to be the bossy one.”

“Pfft, well that ain’t true over here.” Joto chortled.

The two reached the top of the Grim Ramp. A couple Nimbi were sitting on the nearby clouds, watching the show. Otto and Koda mounted their boards on the edge of the ramp. Their path, straight and splayed beneath them, seemed to grow more narrow as it stretched into the distance. “You ain’t scared, are you, Otto?” Koda grinned.

“N-No way! I’m ready when you are!”

“On three, then.” Koda attached fireworks to his back. “One!” He lit them up. “Two!” The fuses reached the end. “THREE!” And Koda blasted down on his roller blades. Otto lit up the rockets on his board and shot down as well. The steepness of the ramp plus their rockets generated terrific speed. Otto could feel the wind blasting him through his shades, his lips flapping away from his teeth. Twister was excitedly recording the spectacle, while Ichigo and Reggie were biting their lips in worry.

“WHOOOOOOAAAA!” The two launched off the ramp and seemed to fly to the sky.

“Joto, come on!” Ichigo mounted his board and rolled across the park.

“Okay!” Joto slid after him, and the others followed.

A couple miles away, there was a balloon fortress specially designed to catch people who flew off the Grim Ramp. Ichigo expertly dodged around the smaller kids as he skated past the park and up the road leading to the fort. “Joto, grab my hand!” He squatted down and reached back. Joto caught up and allowed her leader to grab her. Once at the fort, Ichigo leapt off his board and bounced up the structure with great speed thanks to momentum. As he predicted, Otto and Koda were about to crash in the earth past the fort. “Joto, GO!” Ichigo hurled his teammate straight up.

The red-haired girl grabbed Koda from the air, breaking his fall. Ichigo sprung from the bounce fort with enough force to CLAP Otto in his hands. Ichigo bent his legs to land on his kneepads, feeling shaken from the impact. Joto landed on her pads as well, she and Koda tumbling apart.

“Phew…” Ichigo opened his hands. “Daijōbu?”

“Daijō-who?” Otto asked.

“It means ‘Are you okay’?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“You still think helmets are for shoobies?”

“Fine, you win. I’ll dress up.”

The group headed around the bounce fort just as the others had caught up. “Man, why’d you save me, Joto? You totally broke my technique!” Koda said.

“You almost broke your body.” Ichigo stated.

“Either way, I think the score goes to our team for that save.” Joto smirked.

“Yeah, we’ll give you guys that one.” Reggie agreed. “You’re lucky Ichigo was there to save you, Otto.”

“That’s our leader for ya~” Joto praised. “He may have a big head, but he’s got a big heart.”

“You were a big help yourself, Joto.” Ichigo smiled, holding his hand down and open.

“I’m happy to lend you a hand~” Joto’s scrawny hand smacked his giant palm. Ichigo held it above her as she dealt a high-five, then he gently waved his hand as she smacked the middle finger. He thrusted a gentle punch, and Joto slammed her fist against his knuckle.

“Yeah, well they need to make that fort thingy wider!” Otto stated.

“Yeah, excuses.” Koda teased. “So, Squid, you made these rocket boards, right? Show me your best one and let’s race.”

“Not against you…”

“Better watch your heels, Princess, I’ll trip you right up!” Joto teased at Reggie.

“You’re on!”

“Mazu, you said you would make your Tornadus Twister Tea, right??” Twister asked.

“A chef never goes back on their menu, Twister!”

“Then get yourselves geared and let’s skate!” Ichigo clapped.

“You’re gonna eat my dust, big boy!” Otto retorted.

For the rest of the day, both teams of four were the center of attention. Koda and Squid were ramming each other with barrier-projecting boards. Joto and Reggie were grinding down twin rails, the former shrinking herself to give herself a wider area to skate. Joto would even leap the great distance to Reggie’s rail and use her enhanced strength to trip her board and make the Rocket fall. Mazu and Twister were skating up and down the same ramp on opposite sides, tossing food to each other’s mouths when they were at the peak. Ichigo and Otto were chasing each other within the labyrinth of tunnels, the giant kicking his Super Soccerball toward the smaller boy, who was ready to kick back with a rocket-powered kick.

**_Rocket Power_ was one of those shows that was just really trendy, I feel like. But I did like the “New Zealand” special.**


	13. Julie Bean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max Murphy talks to Julie Bean at Moonbase.

**I made this one-shot in tribute of one of the most most unique human beings I have ever met.**

****

**_

Julie Bean

_**

****

Max Murphy had arrived at KND Moonbase, ready for another fun day of duty. He whistled a casual tune as he marched onto the bridge.

“MAX is here! Hi, Max!”

A high, nasally voice called across the room. Max looked over, seeing his favorite rooster waddling over to him. She wore glasses and a bib with a jellybean image. “Hi, Julie Bean!” Max called happily.

“Christmas Bean! Hey hey, guess who’s here? Pony’s here!” She pointed over to Perry Uno as he was walking by. “Hi, Pony!”

“Heh, hi, Julie.” Perry waved with a chuckle.

“He likes me. He said he likes the Juicester.”

“He does?” Max asked.

“Yeah, ask him.”

“Hey Perry, you like the Juicester?”

“Of course I do!” Perry beamed. “Anyway, I’ll be in my office.”

“He he; he’s going to see his Boogeyman.” Julie informed.

“Oh, the Boogeyman?” Max inquired.

“Yeah, his name is Christina. Awwww, look at that doggy.” Julie pointed at a girl playing with her puppy.

“Yeah, dogs are cute.”

“That’s your girlfriend?”

“No way! I’m a cat person.”

“You have a cat? What’s his name?”

“Her name’s Cherry. She’s six years old.”

“F-First grade?”

“Yep!”

“You tell Cherry you like me, or you hate me?”

“I told her I like you, of course!”

“What she say?”

“She said ‘meow.’”

“D’aww, cats do that. Oh, hey, it’s Marshmallow!” She called over to Marty Gilligan. “Hey Marshmallow, you goin’ on a date with his Cherry Cat?”

“What?” Marty asked, baffled by the sudden question.

“You’re going out with a first grader! WUH HA HA HA!” Julie cracked up at her joke.

“Oh, geez.” Marty sighed, walking away.

“Aw, he’s shy.”

“Yeah, he is.” Max nodded.

“Y-Ya hate me, right?”

“WHAT?! Where did that come from?!”

“Ya like me?”

“Yeah!”

“’Cause we’re friendsies!”

“Yeah, we’re Fish-Food Frenzy!” Max cheered.

“Aww, look at that dog.” Julie acknowledged the girl’s puppy again. “That’s Perry’s girlfriend.”

“What happened to the Boogeyman?”

“H-he-he’s got a hundred million dollars.”

“A hundred million?!”

“Yeah, that’s nice I am?”

“I guess so, Julie Bean!”

“He’s a rich woman!”

“He IS a rich woman!”

“Yeah, and her name is Doggy.”

Max hacked out spit in his laughter, taken off guard by the sudden rebound. “Ah-ah-I’m funny?”

“You are VERY funny!” Max affirmed.

“Hey, when I say ‘Marty,’ a-a-and Cherry Cat, h-he walk away?”

“Yeah, he’s shy.”

“H-He’s a shy man. Hey, it’s Sergeant! Hi, Sergeant!” She called to Star Winkiebottom.

“Hi, Julie Bean. Is Perry here?”

“H-h-he’s at the North Pole, datin’ his Boogeyman.”

“His what?” Star cocked a brow.

“Yeah, her name is Christina.”

“Christina?!” Max exclaimed. “That’s our cousin!”

“P-P-Perry’s on a date with his cousin! Guh ha ha ha ha ha!” Julie cracked up.

“Right, so, is he in his office?” Star asked.

“Yeah, on the toilet.”

“Thanks, Julie Bean.” Star walked to the office.

“BOO!” Max smacked her back!

“HUFF, CHRISTINA!” Julie yelped. “Hey hey, ‘boo!’ means you like me?”

“It sure does, Julie Bean!”

“Hey, you go on a mission yesterday?”

“Yeah, just had to bust some bad guys.”

“J-J-J-Jack Frost.”

“Yeah, I had to stop Jack Frost.”

“Yeah, t-t-t-tell Jack Frost go back to the North Pole.”

“Yeah, get outta here, Jack!”

“Yeah, or we’re gonna have ta fight the Jack Frost War.”

“Not the Jack Frost War!”

“Yeah, k-kill Jack Frost, that’s smart I am?”

“I think Jack Frost is already dead, Julie Bean.”

“J-J-Jack Frost dead, bring back summer!”

“Yay, I love summer!”

“And wear your bikini~”

“Sure, Julie Bean, I’ll wear my bikini.”

“A-and tell Pony and Sergeant to wear their bikinis.”

“Okay.” Max approached the office and opened the door. “Hey, Perry, Star, wear your bikinis!”

“Huhu huhuhuhuhu!” Julie laughed. Perry sported a chuckle while Star sighed. “Hey, it’s Kenny Rogers, hi, Kent!” She called to Kent Taylor.

“Ah, hey, Julie Bean.”

“He’s going to Barbie’s Dream House!”

“He is??” Max asked.

“Hey hey, make sure to wear your bikini!”

“Okay, Julie Bean.” Kent continued about his business.

“H-he, he wants to see his Barbie.”

“Oh, he does, does he?” Max smirked.

“Yeah, h-he’s gonna deliver her baby.”

“Oh my, really?!”

“Yeah, fifty of them.”

“FIFTY BABIES?!”

“Yeah, and they’re all named Christina; that’s nice I am?”

“Man, that’s a lot of Christinas!”

“Th-th-they’re goin’ on a date with Pony.”

“Perry can’t date his cousins!”

“D’aw, come on, Perry, g-get with the program!”

“Yeah, don’t be silly, Perry!”

“Perry’s going on a date with your Cherry Cat?”

“Apparently.”

“They’re gonna have kittens!”

“Cool!”

F-Five hundred of them.”

“500 kittens?!”

“I-In your bedroom.”

“MY BEDROOM?!”

“And there’s gonna be 100 spiders, a-and 100 snakes, and lions, i-in your shower.”

Max stomped into the office and yelled, “Perry, don’t put all those animals in my bedroom!”

“Will you stop interrupting us?” Star asked.

“H-he’s putting 100 spiders in your bed, I don’t do that.” Julie said.

“I know you don’t, Julie Bean.”

“Is that nice I am?”

“Of course it is, Julie!”

“Hey, we need a toilet in the elevator.”

“We do?”

“Yeah, so, s’when we get the elevator, just sit down, and use the toilet! Is that smart I am?”

“That’s very smart, Julie Bean!”

“Ya hate me?”

“No, Julie!”

“You picked me? Whatcha say?”

“I said, ‘This is a very peculiar person.’”

“You say, ‘I like this Rooster’!”

“Yeah, I had ta get me some of that Juicester!”

“I’m a nice Juicester?”

“You sure are a nice Juicester!”

“I-I’m a nice pet~”

“Oh great, it’s the Nerd Squad.” remarked Christina Uno, approaching the duo while munching a hotdog.

“Hi, Christina! Hey hey, that hotdog, that’s your boyfriend?”

“Yep, this is mah boyfriend.” Chris twirled the meat. “Gonna stick him right down my gullet~”

“W-with your bikini on.”

“Oh, shut up, Julie.” Christina marched away.

Julie turned back to Max. “Hey, she tell the Rooster to shut up.”

“She did?”

“You, you never do that, right?”

“No!”

“’Cause ya like me!”

“Yeah, I do!”

“Hey, hey, ya-”

Koda Ramsey was blowing up a balloon. Julie gasped and ducked. …He finished the balloon and wrapped it shut. Julie cocked her head up and looked around cautiously. Thinking it was safe, she resumed, “Hey, Perry, Christina, th-th-they’re goin’ on a date with-”

Koda puffed up another balloon. Julie gasped and ducked. He finished the balloon and wrapped it shut. Julie cocked her head up and looked around cautiously. Thinking it was safe, she resumed, “Hey, hey, when you go on missions, you don’t get to see me, that’s not fair?”

“No, that’s not fair?”

“Just, t-tell Perry, I wanna see my Rooster.”

“Yeah, I wanna see my Juicester!”

“Hey, come on people, get with the progr-”

_POP!_

“OH, GOSH!” Julie flapped her wings and scurried away. Max followed after her and caught up. Julie turned back around and said, “C-C-Coin is making bombs.”

“Yeah, Coin is making bombs.”

“Hey, Perry’s gonna fight the Jack Frost War.”

“Oh, he’s going to war, huh?”

“Yeah, to bring back summer, that’s nice I am?”

“How did you factor into that statement?”

“Hey, what time you goin’ home?”

“About eight.” Max answered.

“In the morning.”

“Sí.”

“Seadog.”

“Sea rabbits.”

“Sea McDonalds.”

“Sea Frisch’s.”

“That’s Perry’s boy-girlfriend.”

“His boy-girlfriend?”

“Huhuhuhuhuhu!” Julie chortled. “Aww, look at that doggy.” She pointed at the puppy again. “That’s a cute.”

“Yes, that is a ‘cute.’”

“Her name’s McDonald’s.”

“That’s your boyfriend?”

“No, Pillsbury Doughboy.”

“You gonna get married?” Max wondered.

“Yeah, h-have your honeymoon in the closet.”

“Oh, that sounds romantic!”

“Yeah, p-put in a nice bed, and a toilet, and sleep in the closet!”

“That sounds sweet!”

“Sweet like a monkey.”

“Bye, Max, bye, Julie.” Star said as he began to leave.

“Tony the Tiger.” Julie perked up and turned to him. “Hey, where ya goin’, Star?”

“I’m going back to H.Q..”

“You off to see your girlfriend, Santa Claus?”

“Not really?”

“Hey hey, Star, don’t be afraid of Juicester, I don’t bite.”

“Yeah, she doesn’t bite.” Max supported.

“I, I bite the Boogeyman.”

“Yeah, she’ll bite the Boogeyman.”

“I protect people.”

“Yeah, she’s a security rooster!” Max beamed.

“I’m a nice pet~”

“Right…” Star said with disbelief. “Take care, you two.” He continued on his way.

“He, he’s going to see his girlfriend, the Boogeyman. His wife is Jack Frost.”

“Oh, Star’s got a lot of girlfriends.”

“And they’re all named Christina.”

“Hey, Julie, wanna help Frasmine wipe down the computers?” Perry asked, exiting his office.

“Okay, Grandpa. Bye Max, I’m gonna help French Fry.” Julie Bean waddled away.

After she left, Max fell on his back. “Phew! Man, Julie’s mental training gets more intense every day.”

“You getting some new gag ideas?” Perry asked.

“I think so. By the way, Julie wanted me to tell you to get 500 spiders for Star’s wedding.”

“Who’s he getting married to?”

“Jack Frost. And there’s gonna be a hotdog-Reese Cup cake, I’ll be the flower girl, and Isabelle can be the preacher.”

“Who’s the ring bearer?”

“McDonald’s.”

**Like, quite honestly, Julie Bean is one of the oddest and funniest people I’ve ever talked to. Her brand of humor is so surreal and original, and I get some of it every week! She has so many comments and responses to different things, and even when she reuses the same jokes, she’ll always find a way to flip them around in an unexpected way! I couldn’t think of a good way to end this because it just goes on and on, and I find myself breathless trying to keep up with her! XD And one day, I start calling her “The Juicester,” and she started identifying as a rooster. Only problem is it’s impossible to have a normal conversation with her. Either way, she makes my work days a blast. X3 We all need a little Julie Bean in our diet.**

“I’m a nice bean~” Julie grinned.


	14. Third Gen Trailers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trailers for planned Third Gen stories: Operation: HONKAI, Operation: DESCENDANT, Operation: STUDIO, and Max and the Seven Bos.

**Here’s a collection of trailers for planned Third Gen stories!**

****

**_

Operation: HONKAI

_**

****

A silver-haired girl sported a hi-tech cannon. An indigo-haired girl slashed a katana. A girl with eyes as blue as the sea, with matching hair and clothes, cut the air with a scythe. The girls wore mechanical armor.

“The Valkyries are the latest advancement of the Galactic Armada!” announced Otto Apocalypse, a blonde man with a purple coat and regal attire. “Galaxia will know another age of peace!”

Star Winkiebottom and Marty Gilligan saw this broadcast in the former’s office. “Well, you can always trust a man whose last name is Apocalypse.” Marty remarked.

“We’ll be the judges of that either way.” Star replied, turning to their new recruit. “So, you’d better set a good example!”

Behind them was one of the Valkyries, a girl with white hair in a ponytail and blue eyes. Her tech armor was white and black with orange lines. “I won’t let you down!” Kiana vowed.

…

A swarm of white aliens began to descend on Coruscant, the citizens crying out in panic as the creatures ravaged the city. “What are these things?!” Marty exclaimed.

“These are… the Honkai?!” Kiana gasped.

Star fired a shell from a cannon that exploded into a black hole, sucking in a group of Honkai. Marty fired peanut-butter and jelly out of twin pistols, sticking and rendering the aliens’ movements. Bender grabbed a large Honkai’s arm and bent it at the elbow. The robot stretched his arms to grab a flying Honkai, Star and Marty hanging onto him as the Honkai carried them across a chasm.

…

“The 14 Herrschers want revenge for what was done to their people.” Otto said. “They’ll destroy everything in their sights.”

“Then why the heck did you harness their energy in the first place?!” Star yelled.

“I had my reasons for the Valkyrie project. And I have no doubt my Valkyries can handle these monsters, especially with the reliable KND to help them.”

“Well, Star, I guess this is our coming-of-age space adventure.” Marty inferred.

“At least I’ll be able to cut classes for a while.”

****

**_

Gameverse x Honkai Impact 3rd

…

Operation: DESCENDANT

_**

****

A massive, red, spike-covered demon rose from a fiery pit, his minions covering the world. The demon loomed over the kids of Sector V, Christina Uno at the front. _“Your body is rich with the soul of Malladus… How delicious! Once your soul is within my being, I will crush the current regime and seize the throne of Demon King!”_

“Hah! A Malladus wannabe?!” Christina smirked, cracking her fiery knuckles. “Go ahead and try! Assuming my soul ain’t too spicy for you!”

“Run, children!” An Angel with peacock feathers and a gold mask impaled the demon with his Holy Glaive. “Diablo cannot be slain as he is!”

“L-Let’s listen to him, Christina!” Mali whimpered, the giant cowering at the demons. “There’s too many of them!”

“Don’t worry!” Jason grinned, fist-palming. “We’ll ’ave time to beat them all later!”

“I’ll hold you to that, Captain!” Christina returned.

 _“So, Balder, here to avenge your mentor?”_ the demon asked. _“You will fall… just as he did.”_

Jason struck Baal with a giant Light Fist. Silica sent Inky to bite into Azmodan’s stomach. Laruta was suffering under Andariel’s anguish as Mali was running from the demon, carrying her friend. Perry slashed the Master Sword at Mephisto. Isabelle Rivera raced through a dark desert, shooting arrows through the heads of demons. Trella Dunfree gracefully tiptoed around demons guarding a fortress.

Christina lay weakened on the ground, her clothes burned and covered with soot. _“You lack the hatred worthy for Malladus’s power.”_ Diablo spoke as he raised the unconscious body of Christina’s father. _“Perhaps this will ignite the fire.”_

Christina’s pupils shrank as the fires of rage consumed her flesh.

****

**_

Gameverse x Diablo

…

Operation: STUDIO

_**

****

“I don’t be seein’ what the big deal is.” A green-haired man with an Irish accent led Sector RT through the old studio. The beige studio possessed an old-school feel and smelled of ink. “So what if I went and took a few Bendy dolls from the studio? I doubt these ghosts will want to be playin’ with them any time soon.”

“So, the ghosts really do exist?” Mika asked.

“That’s the only way I can explain these big blobs of—AAAAH!” An ink monster lunged at him from a door, the kids leaping back in terror.

…

“Hey hey, keep your distance, buddy!” Snap shouted, cowering his way up a shelf as Bendy tried to grab him. “Ink and chalk don’t mix well together!”

“Snap!” Mika rushed into the room. “Hey, buddy, over here!” She raised her camera, and when Bendy turned to her, a flash of the camera stunned the haunted mass of ink.

****

**_

Gameverse x Bendy and the Ink Machine

…

Max and the Seven Bos

_**

****

Max Murphy kicked open the doors to the arcade. The gamers were drawn to his arrival, gasping in awe and shock. The boy marched inside, followed by his friend, Kimiko. She was shorter than him with black hair in pigtails (with tints of purple), a black witch hat, and a white dress with sleeves wider than the arms. Her purple-orbed wand matched the color of her eyes.

The arcade-goers cleared the way as the duo approached a ginger-haired 24-year-old in a blue coat. Sensing the two’s arrival, he turned, baring a cool expression. “Who dares interrupt my _Street Fighter_?”

“Are you Scott Pilgrim?” Max asked, his sunglasses twinkling.

“Who wants to know?”

“Your mail got mixed in with mine.” Max raised a package.

“AAAH!” Scott panicked and snatched the package. “I was wondering why the new _Zelda_ didn’t come on time! This was really bugging me!”

But as soon as he ripped it open, Link shot out and KICKED Scott upside the chin. “IT WAS HOT IN THERE!!”

Scott keeled back and crashed through the arcade machine. He recovered and faced Max with seriousness. “You didn’t come to bring my mail, did you?”

“The name’s Max, Master of the Super Fist of Kidding. I’m on a journey to defeat the Seven Bos and become a true master of Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo Kempo.”

“You must be a fool if you think you can beat me with that silly technique.”

“I wish I was a Fool, but at my current level, I can only Kid.”

“Yeah, well we don’t kid up in here.” Scott whipped up his arm, revealing coins between his fingers. “This is an arcade! Only the biggest allowances can survive here!”

“Be careful, Max!” Kimiko shouted. “He can try as many times as he likes with his Super Fist of Pocket Change! You haven’t learned to be responsible with your money, yet!”

Scott flipped a quarter in the air and snatched it in his hand. A sword grew from his fist as he slashed Max across the stomach. A bunch of coins fell from his open shirt. “Every coin you lose decreases your time at the arcade. Eventually, you’ll have no change to spare, and you will forever be banished from this place!”

“What if he just gets more money?” Kimiko asked.

“There’s no time for that, Kimiko.” Max said seriously. “By the time I get more money, Scott will have left the arcade to go eat pizza. We must settle this, here and now… while the quarters are still fresh!”

“Then you’d better make it quick, Max.” Scott narrowed his eyes with passion. “Because the pizzas have anchovies today.”


End file.
